Last time I told you about getting the gas tank mounted and the arrival of the FFMetal Grand Slam kit. The first thing I did was position the battery box and figure out what to do about the trunk aluminum covering it.
FFR provides a cheesy plastic battery box like you’d find in a boat. The FFMetal box is .060" 5052 aluminum and is built like a tank. No one’s ever going to see it, but I love it!
Now that I’m rolling with the whole mocking, marking, drilling, riveting process it’s time to move on to the passenger-side cockpit. This is a pretty safe place to get started since there isn’t a lot going on plumbing/electrical-wise on this side (the fuel lines run under this side, but that’s about it).
Again, the FFMetal kit not only gives more room, but uses .090" aluminum for the floor (the FFR supplied floor is .030"). Here’s a shot from the engine bay. I’m not polishing or powder coating the aluminum – too much work for something that’ll hardly be seen. Besides, every race car I’ve ever seen has natural aluminum.
Here’s what it looks like from the inside. Yes those are real rivets. I mocked up the driver’s side, but left the rivets out since there’s still too much stuff going in…
Time for some plumbing. I start at the rear by running my new brake lines along the rear axle. My double-flare tool for the brake lines takes some practice (even now it’s 50/50 on how the flares are going to come out). Hopefully it’ll last a few more lines before it gets flung through the garage wall while the dogs watch…
Did I mention the hard lines aren’t exactly straight?
After doing the rear, it’s on to the front and routing the line along the frame x-member. Just like every major life decision, a support group makes those things easier. And you can bet there are many opinions on how to run your front brake line. I choose to run it on the inside of the x-member:
Finally, it was on to Action Machine to pick up the engine. Rick & I wondered how all the lifting would work out, but they had a swing-out hoist, and dropped the motor (wrapped in plastic) on our dog bed in the back of his truck. Once home, Barney helped mount the engine stand spider, slide it off the truck, and into the engine mount.
A summary of the work I had done:
- Block dip cleaned, magnafluxed, and inspected.
- New expansion plugs
- Bored +.030" (It’s now a 306 C.I.)
- New E303 Cam Grind
- New Bearings/Bolts everywhere
- Short Block Build
Pretty soon the wraps will come off and we’ll be doing some engine work!
Did I mention the wheels (17" x 9" in the front, 17" x 10 1/2" for the rear) are on their way? One of the FFCobra.com vendors was offering a special that I couldn’t pass up.
Thanks for reading.
-Joe
All Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/caropepe/tags/mybuild