6/30/08 - Another Visit, Engine Work & Tires
Yes, it's been a while since my last update. Sorry about that. But it really isn't a big deal - I haven't made too much progress. There was that trip to Houston for Karen's parent's 50th anniversary (after this trip I "misplaced" our digital camera, so the pictures are few and far between...). Oh, and the 9 days in Orlando for a software developer's conference. But really, I have no excuse, so let's get on with this update!First, my mom & dad came out for a great visit last week. "But Joe, wasn't your dad just there?", I hear you saying. He was here back in April, and now it's almost July. But in Cobra-building time, yeah, he was just here.
In between visits, I managed to install the parking brake handle and cables (took a week), and messed around with a windage tray around the crankshaft in the oil pan. I never did get the windage tray working because of clearance issues. Then I tried my hand at some sheet metal work and built a "glove" box for the trunk - this is back side and the door will be between the seats:

I also installed a remote brake fluid reservoir my dad picked up in Michigan and kindly sent to Seattle:
I ordered the tires from TireRack and they showed up while my folks where. We took them to Group 2 Motorsports and had them mounted. In case anyone ever asks, 315 ZR 35/17 tires are HUGE!
Tires, just-arrived and waiting to be mounted:

Tires mounted, and on the car (with a couple of bumbling dunder-heads):

We managed quite a bit of work on the engine. The heads are mounted and, after a few false starts, the entire valvetrain is lubed, spec'd, adjusted, and torqued. The valve covers are on only temporarily because I want to see oil flowing when I spin the oil pump before firing the motor for the first time. I've also painted the intake manifold (lower) and plenum (upper) using a special aluminum casting paint - came out pretty good!
I couldn't bring myself to reuse the horrible donor alternator bracket and serpentine belt tensioner, so I ordered billet aluminum mount. This took a little cutting and grinding of the spacers to get it just right, but we managed to get everything lined up pretty well. But I think my dad is getting sick of my "mocking it up just one more time...".
Finally, we took the headers down to Puget Sound Coatings to have them bead-blasted and coated in aluminum.
Anyway, here's what we've got so far:

Hmmmm, maybe we've made more progress than I thought...
Thanks for reading.
Thanks dad!
-Joe
All photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/caropepe/tags/mybuild/
This article:
http://garage.caropepe.com/home/ffr_cobra_project/FFR_Build_Diary/6302008-parents_tires_engine.html
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