Project Insanity

[Bobby Amato]

No idea.

 

[Bobby Amato]

4.30's are in. Take a look at the pinion seal that came out of this rear end lol

I did the best I could polishing this turd. After much cleaning I finally gave in and figured that was as good as it was going to get without sand blasting it. I coated it with rustoleum hammer paint.

I ordered and LPW rearend cover and some Steeda spherical bushings. I also bought some used D&D weight jacker lower control arms from a guy on corral for $120. For now I'm just going to box the uppers. I'll likely make my own lower tq box reinforcement plates and just weld the uppers. Once the rear end is done I'll finish up the exhaust. Should be driving this thing sometime in March.

 

[Bobby Amato]

I decided to put some new bearings and seals in this axle for piece of mind after seeing the oil and sludge all over and inside this axle.

I also got started on the turbo coupe rear disc conversion. Thanks to Chris (Black 5.0)for donating the brakes and brackets to the cause. I painted them at work and I bought these 5 lug 10.25" multi pattern rotors from www.discbrakesrus.com I still have to cut and reflare the brake lines to adapt them to the calipers. Only one side done. In laws are coming over right now, so I had to clean up.

 

[Svt Fox]

Nice!!!

 

[Speedtospare]

Excellent looking great! I have to fo the torque boxes on mine this year as well. Almost forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder!

The 4.30's will be perfect for your setup.

 

[Bobby Amato]

I busted some stuff out at work today in my spare time.

I sand blasted and boxed my upper control arms then fabricated some lower tq box reinforcements. I also had my rear sway bar and the control arms painted red.

The reason for the red is the fact that I scored a NIB addco tubular front sway bar with brand new end links and frame mount bushings for $100 shipped and it's red. Those things retail for $230.

Anyway enjoy the pics.

1st I traced and made a paper template.

Then I cut out the pattern on the jigsaw.

Then I tacked the plate and walked a clamp down as I was tacking. The heat helps bend the metal where it needs to go.

Here they are all welded / boxed.

Then I made the Tq box reinforcements.

I always do favors for the painters. I have to keep those guys on my good side.

 

[Bobby Amato]

Here is a quick pic of the other side of the tq box reinforcements that I forgot to post yesterday. I received my LPW rear end girdle today and installed it and serviced the diff. Just waiting on the lower control arms to put the axle back in. I also received my radiator today, so I'll try to make some mounts and get it installed this weekend.

 

[Speedtospare]

I did the same thing to my last setup. This time I went with the team Z stuff because it was so reasonable.

 

[ponyboy89lx]

Question??? lol do the wheels rub fenderwell in the back or you got it rolled, because my 17x10's are so freakin tight it makes me nervous, lol I would try the disc conversion on mine if i knew the tires wouldnt rub because the rear disc axels are like 3/4 inch wider on each side than the drum axels. But i would need 4 lug disc

 

[Bobby Amato]

Question??? lol do the wheels rub fenderwell in the back or you got it rolled, because my 17x10's are so freakin tight it makes me nervous, lol I would try the disc conversion on mine if i knew the tires wouldnt rub because the rear disc axels are like 3/4 inch wider on each side than the drum axels. But i would need 4 lug disc

I am using fox length axles and turbo coupe rear disc with the old ford brackets. The tires rubbed when I bought the car, but I rolled the fenders a couple of weeks ago, so we will have to see if they are still rubbing once it's on the road.

 

[Speedtospare]

Question??? lol do the wheels rub fenderwell in the back or you got it rolled, because my 17x10's are so freakin tight it makes me nervous, lol I would try the disc conversion on mine if i knew the tires wouldnt rub because the rear disc axels are like 3/4 inch wider on each side than the drum axels. But i would need 4 lug disc

SN95 rears with 275/40/17 MT Drag radials. Lots of room on the inside and there was clearance without rolling the fender but send my car is so low I decided to roll them to be safe. I used an eastwood fender roller. Took about an hour per side. 17X10 with an SN95 rear would require a 7.25 minimum backspacing. I would go more with a 7.5" and add a small spacer if needed.

Going 295's next time.

 

[Speedtospare]

I need to make some of those torque boxes. Your welding if superior to mine!

 

[Bobby Amato]

I need to make some of those torque boxes. Your welding if superior to mine!

It's my job lol

Update:

I got a lot done today, but I also ran into another hurdle. I guess when you do something like this it's never that easy. I finally took a look at how my steering shaft was going to fit. When I welded in the firewall bearing from the cobra, I put it where it naturally came out of the steering column which I believe was the right thing to do. Since the headers are designed for a 96-98 cobra I was bound to run into an issue and I did.

It looks like I will have to cut and reroute one of the header tubes and reweld it. My hopes of driving it by next week are looking like a long shot now.

On a higher note the rearend is in along with my new strange 10 way adjustable shocks. I took my master cylinder off today and bench bled it, since I brain farted and forgot to do that before the motor was in. It was a PITA trying to get the lines tightened back up with no room and brake fluid dripping all over my hands. I also got the new SN95 rack installed.

Next I went to mount my new radiator which is also from a 96-98 cobra. Well after fumbling around for a while I packed up and headed to the junkyard with a small shopping list. I found out my lincoln fans would not work because they are too big and would hang over far too much on top and bottom, so I needed to get an SN95 fan and all of the mounts for the radiator.

I took a cordless drill and my spot weld cutting kit to get the bottom brackets. I spent 2 hours at the junkyard and finally had what I needed. When I got home I was going to call it a night, but I got my 2nd wind and started cutting, fitting and welding.

First thing I had to do was cut off a piece of the upper radiator bracket that was hitting and not allowing the radiator to move forward where it need to be. I have to reweld the mounting tube on tomorrow.

I started by cutting a corner, but that wasn't enough, so I ended up hacking it off.

After I got it to fit, I got the lower brackets welded in. (sorry for the dark pic. It's the best my phone could do.)

Once I had those welded in I had to cut notches in the top of the fox upper support in order to use the SN95 upper radiator brackets. Once I bolted the radiator brackets on, I fit and welded 2 studs for my new Canton reservoir and mounted it.

All in all not a bad days work, but the header really rained on my parade today, but I guess what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

I've also been doing some research and talked to a couple of people and decided that I'm going to run a power steering cooler. Apparently the hydroboost gets everything really hot. I think the 03-04 cobras came with a power steering cooler too. Just another thing on the "to do list" One comes off and another goes on

 

[Bobby Amato]

Not the best, but then I haven't did much tig at all. I need more torch time, but it's functional, solid and best of all I knocked it out at home and that was a good feeling. Radiator is ready to go.

I picked up a 1 5/8 U bend today. I'm going to see what a can do about that pesky header tube that is in the way of the steering shaft. I'm going to cut the header while it's on the car and try to cut and fit a new piece and get it tacked before pulling it off for final welding. Hopefully I can make it work.

 

[ponyboy89lx]

You using headers or stock manifolds?

 

[Bobby Amato]

You using headers or stock manifolds?

MAC 1 5/8 long tubes.

 

[ponyboy89lx]

The steering shaft goes through my headers makes it a PITA to get it in and out. Keep at bro car is looking great. You got some great welding skills also.

 

[Bobby Amato]

The steering shaft goes through my headers makes it a PITA to get it in and out. Keep at bro car is looking great. You got some great welding skills also.

Thank you sir

 

[Bobby Amato]

I went out and cut the header tube that was in the way today and it's going to be tough making this work, but I have a plan. I know it's kind of hard to see the pic, but the steering shaft is right smack dab in front of the #8 primary tube.

To be continued......................

 

[ponyboy89lx]

Hey bobby i wonder if i will run into this problem when i change the firewall plate for the new steering shaft for the SN95 dash, man i hope not lol