97 Cobra Restomod - Snow Pony

Makobra

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ANOTHER UPDATE!

I found the root cause. When I pulled apart the front end I removed something that I thought was an airbag sensor... A ceramic horseshoe... Well turns out that'd the fuel pump resistor for the low voltage circuit.

So after a minute of running the pcm says "okay things look dope and we're at idle so let's use less fuel" switches over and... Missing resistor means the circuit was open.

Hooked up the resistor, repinned the relay, and she ran like a champ for five minutes.

Now to replace a dead coolant temp sensor and maybe my fans wills switch on so we can finish this exhaust and these brakes.
 

pdm

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Good find. Big ceramic resistor went bad in my Grand Prix. Turns out a 12v 75w halogen bulb works perfectly.
 

Makobra

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Remember that ugly crossover tube i deleted? well, i also deleted something important: this little filler/bleed cap thing.
so, no regrets, but we gotta solve that problem. as with most things in my build the solution is going to be farbrication.

I had some aluminum and a tank cap laying around and didn't really like how short the filler neck is on the Y block MMR offers so having a shop weld up this stuff was a no brainer.

The idea here is that I need 2 things:
1. A place to put coolant into the system
2. A place to burp air from the system
3. A place that is high enough and in the right spot so as to catch air and get burped.

so that's why I stuck it on the y block. EVERYTHING goes through it whether the Tstat is open or not.

The sensor on top is going on bottom once a little fitting gets here from the amazon.

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Makobra

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Finally getting rid of those old rusty rotors. I read a lot about people saying the pads don't fit so they grind them down.
don't do that. all you have to do is just don't use one of the shims. they're just to keep the pads from rattling and frankly if they're snug why would they rattle... so quit grinding your pads? or maybe i'm wrong but dudes with racecars don't use them at all so whatever.

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Makobra

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so in light of the extensive level of frankenbuilding I've put together a spreadsheet to help me maintain this car over time and just in case I have to sell it (Heaven forbid) the next owner will easily be able to do the same.

97 Cobra Restomod Build Sheet
 

Makobra

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So with the fuel system figured out I had to mount this resistor in a new spot since i redid the wiring harness. one rivnut and some bracket modification later here's where she's gonna stay. I also snipped, taped, and tucked, all the smog stuff by the ABS unit.

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Makobra

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So the valvetrain noise on cold start hasn't gone away ... which means investigation. fortunately for some odd reason i was able to get the valve cover off without removing the bmc. i haven't been able to see any issues on my own but my buddy is going to take a look while i turn it over tonight or tomorrow.
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ViciousBlack97

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So the valvetrain noise on cold start hasn't gone away ... which means investigation. fortunately for some odd reason i was able to get the valve cover off without removing the bmc. i haven't been able to see any issues on my own but my buddy is going to take a look while i turn it over tonight or tomorrow.
View attachment 1651108 View attachment 1651109
I'm about to go down the same path, however I'm nearly 100% certain my issue lies with the lash adjusters. I had the entire timing set replaced chasing my noise, to no avail.
 

Makobra

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well we checked with a feeler gauge of 2-3 thousandths at base circle each rocker roller and couldn't find any play at all.
a little worried its the valve guides because everything else looks... honestly... great.

tomorrow i give the builder the news, it sounds like he's willing to come out and take a look so hopefully he can see what the issue is from the topside cause i really don't wanna drop this beautiful motor out :(
 

Makobra

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Welp that T45 was leaking so I had to pull it out.


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took the bolts out and this thing came undone under its own weight. guess that explains the leak.

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look at how clean those mating surfaces are! I didn't clean them!
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needed to helilcoil a bolt hole so i did that and the tailshaft seal while it was out.

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waiting on some motorcraft goop my neighbor recommended to seal her back up.
idunno why i was crazy enough to think this trans might be fine when everything else on the car has been done badly.
 

Makobra

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While she was up in the air with the tranny out i worked on the stance a bit. this is a 5mm spacer to get the passenger wheel closer to the fender. dunno how or why ford allowed this but apparently its a very common issue.

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So to get more low i removed one of the locking rings from the BC racing spring perches.
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basically this is perfect imo. now i gotta make it uniform and make sure the suspension can be aligned pretty close to what specs I want while also making sure the tires will fit. I don't plan on running meats this beefy but I'm thankful the car has them because if I can make these nitto 315's fit pretty much anything will fit.

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I ended up having to take the front off, reseal it, and helicoil a couple bolt holes in the trans. its now back in the car, this is how i got it off the workbench without throwing my back out :D

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Makobra

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alternator is probably bad. guys. im tired. right now i really wish i would've started with a running GT instead of a cobra parts pile.

I'm at that point in a build where I'm thinking about paying someone to finish some things.
 

ViciousBlack97

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alternator is probably bad. guys. im tired. right now i really wish i would've started with a running GT instead of a cobra parts pile.

I'm at that point in a build where I'm thinking about paying someone to finish some things.
If the alt is bad, buy a rebuild kit and restore it yourself. I was able to save mine for about 60 bucks, and with all the work you've done to your car I'm sure it would only take about an hour to completely restore your alt.
4GM | Alternator Starter Rebuild Kits
That's the kit I used, and it brought my alt back to 100%
 

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