Great progress. Keep working away at all the little issues. Soon you will be driving a really nice car.
MG 2001 Cobra Terminator Swap - Build Thread
- Thread starter josephcostello
- Start date
Installed a Maximum Motorsports clutch quadrant and firewall adjuster, made a few adjustments for perfect engagement. Clutch is dialed.
Another hurdle, thought my parking brake not working because the lever was extremely loose. So thursday I went out to tighten it up so I could take the car for an alignment and spent the whole day trying to figure out why it was not at all working. What was happening is the piston was not moving the pad at all against the rotors though the cable was pulling the spring as it should on the caliper. I boiled it down to the calipers being rebuilt incorrectly so they were sent back yesterday morning to get rebuilt and powder coated again. Not at all impressed with the company I went through with the brakes.
Nonetheless, this makes the car immobile for at least all next week. Plans are obviously shifting and after I finish some punch list items, I am planning to put the body pieces on the car for test fit purposes and also to make it complete so it doesn't look like i'm driving a go cart. There's a chance I start my job and move before the car gets painted.
Another hurdle, thought my parking brake not working because the lever was extremely loose. So thursday I went out to tighten it up so I could take the car for an alignment and spent the whole day trying to figure out why it was not at all working. What was happening is the piston was not moving the pad at all against the rotors though the cable was pulling the spring as it should on the caliper. I boiled it down to the calipers being rebuilt incorrectly so they were sent back yesterday morning to get rebuilt and powder coated again. Not at all impressed with the company I went through with the brakes.
Nonetheless, this makes the car immobile for at least all next week. Plans are obviously shifting and after I finish some punch list items, I am planning to put the body pieces on the car for test fit purposes and also to make it complete so it doesn't look like i'm driving a go cart. There's a chance I start my job and move before the car gets painted.
Out with the old, in with the new.
Terminator deck lid off the donor, new oem bumper cover, and ambers which will never get old.
My initials are scribed in multiple places on this car.
Had to source a new heater hose since I tore the original up when the motor went in. Ford says the FH88 hose will fit. It does not. Luckily an old cobra owner had this in his garage.
Trying to figure out why the car isn’t running as good as it should. Surges a bit at idle and acts a bit funny at around 2100rpms cruising. No WOT tests yet obviously. I think the TR6s need a bigger gap, so I pulled the plugs and set them at .40 (.35 set by me when I was putting the motor together). Plugs looked like they were starving for fuel and I did get a lean code at idle a week or so ago.
So after spending literally hours trying to decide wheels, I have finally narrowed it down. I wanted to do something new that I hadn’t seen on another cobra. Initially I was going to buy a set of XXRs and have them powder-coated. That’s the set I bought and posted pictures of. Then I couldn’t source the fronts. So I decided on another wheel but the offsets were just a little off. I could’ve made it work with spacers but it wasn’t quite good enough for me.
So after a 30min phone call with the owner I’m going with wheels that are very well respected in the cobra community. Coming from an investment perspective it just makes sense over any other cast wheel. I’m not spilling the beans, but I will hint, they’re chrome 18s and not black. The 18 part should give it away.
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Terminator deck lid off the donor, new oem bumper cover, and ambers which will never get old.
My initials are scribed in multiple places on this car.
Had to source a new heater hose since I tore the original up when the motor went in. Ford says the FH88 hose will fit. It does not. Luckily an old cobra owner had this in his garage.
Trying to figure out why the car isn’t running as good as it should. Surges a bit at idle and acts a bit funny at around 2100rpms cruising. No WOT tests yet obviously. I think the TR6s need a bigger gap, so I pulled the plugs and set them at .40 (.35 set by me when I was putting the motor together). Plugs looked like they were starving for fuel and I did get a lean code at idle a week or so ago.
So after spending literally hours trying to decide wheels, I have finally narrowed it down. I wanted to do something new that I hadn’t seen on another cobra. Initially I was going to buy a set of XXRs and have them powder-coated. That’s the set I bought and posted pictures of. Then I couldn’t source the fronts. So I decided on another wheel but the offsets were just a little off. I could’ve made it work with spacers but it wasn’t quite good enough for me.
So after a 30min phone call with the owner I’m going with wheels that are very well respected in the cobra community. Coming from an investment perspective it just makes sense over any other cast wheel. I’m not spilling the beans, but I will hint, they’re chrome 18s and not black. The 18 part should give it away.
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Sounds like you called Steve and ordered some true forged! Also sounds like you have a vacuum leak causing the lean and surging. Good luck with getting that found-fixed quickly!
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I actually sent him a message a couple weeks ago and he never got back to me. But unfortunately those are most likely out of my budget currently but would love to see the car sitting on Mach 5s at some point.
He is back in business as of a couple weeks ago, he did take a couple weeks getting back to my message and I already ordered some welds. I like them but wish I was more patient. Check with Joe @BYEPOLR as he is now dealing with 3030 wheels( I may have that name wrong), the wheels are custome order and BEAUTIFUL! Also more budget friendly then weld
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Appreciate it, I just reached back out to him! I saw his build thread, that car is going to be insane. Those wheels are really nice too.
Brand new Ford cowl panel installed.
Fenders and liners installed, had to move a couple power wires on the driver's side to the d. block since the tire was most likely gonna rub. Cut a hole in the liner to accommodate accordingly.
Fought fitting the hood for like a day and a half before realizing the fitment at the hinges were the problem. The pre drilled threads on the hood were 3/16 short side to side when comparing to my factory hood. Has to be a bad batch from Cervini. Going to call them tomorrow and discuss. I'm running my 01 bumper so I don't want the gap otherwise I would have gone OEM.
One of my NOS sets of mirrors installed!
Sideskirts. I was gonna run bullitt skirts but not sure I'm 100% on the look. Maybe someday I'll change it up.
Starting to look like a car again, but also looks like a fake cobra haha.
Fenders and liners installed, had to move a couple power wires on the driver's side to the d. block since the tire was most likely gonna rub. Cut a hole in the liner to accommodate accordingly.
Fought fitting the hood for like a day and a half before realizing the fitment at the hinges were the problem. The pre drilled threads on the hood were 3/16 short side to side when comparing to my factory hood. Has to be a bad batch from Cervini. Going to call them tomorrow and discuss. I'm running my 01 bumper so I don't want the gap otherwise I would have gone OEM.
One of my NOS sets of mirrors installed!
Sideskirts. I was gonna run bullitt skirts but not sure I'm 100% on the look. Maybe someday I'll change it up.
Starting to look like a car again, but also looks like a fake cobra haha.
Almost two weeks and no update, come on OP!
LOL the last couple weeks have honestly been kind of rough. I really have not been that motivated to work on the car at all.
First I went to go get the car aligned and quickly realized the parking brake was not working. In the morning I tried to adjust the lever which turned into a full 8 hour diagnosis. Basically, the rear calipers were not pushing the pad in when the cable was pulled. So off they came and were sent back out to get rebuilt. That took about a week and a half. That's when I decided to put the body back together.
Finally got the car back together and drove it one night. The car has been getting hot at idle and I attributed that to not being properly burped because my air controls have not been working and I haven't been able to run the heater. That turned into a 15 hour battle where I was scared I cut a wire while re wrapping the dash harness because not only was the air not working, but neither the front lower door speakers, passenger door lock, passenger window, and the pas. mirror would go down when it was supposed to go side ways. It ended up being two connections I had hooked up wrong.
Then I realized I needed to do something about the steering rack. When I took it out of the donor it was a bit rusty on the end of the pinion where the steering shaft bolted up. I didn't think anything of it at the time and took a wire wheel and a drill to the end. Well during my drives the wheel has been loose and pivoting at the connection. I tried a few times shimming it with no avail. Realized I had shaven a bit too much off the connection thus causing the shaft to not get a good bight. So i decided to go get a parts rack out of a V6 and swap pistons. Took the donor rack apart and only then did I realize it's not the same as our racks thus I would be ruining the heavy feel of the rack.
So I put the new tie rods on my original rack and put it back in the car.
Tried to figure out why my fan wasn't working, ended up being a bad fan resistor.
Then I decided I wanted the car lower. As you can tell I have coils on the front which are really nice, but the rears I've always had HR race springs. I have chosen to leave the bottom iso in and wrap the top with tape to reduce noise, but decided I'd pull the rear iso to lower me a little bit more. I wrapped the bottom coil in 3/4 coolant hose.
Now for the big update, the NEW wheels and tires are mounted and on the car. I'm not sharing pics yet because in a couple hours I am going straight to the alignment shop. But I got the car sitting perfect (IMO). Now I feel like I can finally drive the car. Many pics (with a different background than my shop ) will be coming.
LOL the last couple weeks have honestly been kind of rough. I really have not been that motivated to work on the car at all.
First I went to go get the car aligned and quickly realized the parking brake was not working. In the morning I tried to adjust the lever which turned into a full 8 hour diagnosis. Basically, the rear calipers were not pushing the pad in when the cable was pulled. So off they came and were sent back out to get rebuilt. That took about a week and a half. That's when I decided to put the body back together.
Finally got the car back together and drove it one night. The car has been getting hot at idle and I attributed that to not being properly burped because my air controls have not been working and I haven't been able to run the heater. That turned into a 15 hour battle where I was scared I cut a wire while re wrapping the dash harness because not only was the air not working, but neither the front lower door speakers, passenger door lock, passenger window, and the pas. mirror would go down when it was supposed to go side ways. It ended up being two connections I had hooked up wrong.
Then I realized I needed to do something about the steering rack. When I took it out of the donor it was a bit rusty on the end of the pinion where the steering shaft bolted up. I didn't think anything of it at the time and took a wire wheel and a drill to the end. Well during my drives the wheel has been loose and pivoting at the connection. I tried a few times shimming it with no avail. Realized I had shaven a bit too much off the connection thus causing the shaft to not get a good bight. So i decided to go get a parts rack out of a V6 and swap pistons. Took the donor rack apart and only then did I realize it's not the same as our racks thus I would be ruining the heavy feel of the rack.
So I put the new tie rods on my original rack and put it back in the car.
Tried to figure out why my fan wasn't working, ended up being a bad fan resistor.
Then I decided I wanted the car lower. As you can tell I have coils on the front which are really nice, but the rears I've always had HR race springs. I have chosen to leave the bottom iso in and wrap the top with tape to reduce noise, but decided I'd pull the rear iso to lower me a little bit more. I wrapped the bottom coil in 3/4 coolant hose.
Now for the big update, the NEW wheels and tires are mounted and on the car
. I'm not sharing pics yet because in a couple hours I am going straight to the alignment shop. But I got the car sitting perfect (IMO). Now I feel like I can finally drive the car. Many pics (with a different background than my shop ) will be coming.
Excited to see the results, and the new wheels man. Been following ever since. Really cool build. Thanks for sharing, and typing up all of your findings, and experiences you’re having.
Appreciate it!
Time to spill the beans. I went with AFS chrome wheels wrapped in Continental extreme contact sport tires. The front tires are 275/35 and rears 295/35. Never thought I'd be putting chrome wheels on this car, but I am so pleased with how the car came out.
Really pleased with how this car sits. I have always been super particular about drivability issues and the car being too low. To me, this car sits perfect now. Any lower in the back and it would require stiffer springs and any lower in the front the k member would be scraping + too much rake. It rides firm but not rough at all.
The rear set up is HR race springs with no isos (bottom half coil wrapped in coolant hose). I haven't heard any noise yet. Front is on MM coil overs.
And the original 250A inline fuse I had originally put in the car was acting up and finally failed yesterday morning, luckily a local audio shop hooked me up with a better unit.
Aligned! Then went on an 80 mile drive. Honestly this drive was one of the most memorable times in the car. Felt like when I was 15 driving this car for the first time. Gonna have to figure out a way to rig up my phone to video this car driving.
And unfortunately I chewed up the driver's fender liner. I was stupid and wasn't thinking about the wind. Picked up a new Ford replacement and it will be replaced when I put the bumper on.
Man I’ve been following this build since day 1. This things awesome man. Thanks for allowing us to follow along and live vicariously thru this entire endeavor of yours. It’s awesome how detailed, and willing to do the little things that many would have said “meh, good enough nobody will see it”. Gotta admit I’ve done that a few times. Later the same night I tore it back down because I was tossing in bed because I knew I went the faster way. Always a pleasure to read up on the progress.
I really do appreciate it! I can't lie there are things throughout this build where I've skated through and didn't feel right about it. Some of those things I ended up re doing but all of the things I ended up not re doing caused problems for me later down the line. This car has taught me so many things but the main thing patience and being methodical. It's easy to work hard or efficient but a lot harder to be effective while doing it. Building this stupid car has taught me so much about myself and given me a level of pride in something I didn't know was possible.
Spent the last few days helping my father with some stuff on his car, but I hit 300 miles this week and getting a feel for the car. It drives so tight and the suspension feels so dialed. The money spent on the IRS was well worth it. I have an appointment to get the SFC welded in in about two weeks.
Taken earlier.
My new cervini hood should be here by Friday.
Still having a slight miss at idle and sometimes the car stumbles coming to a stop and stalls. Pulling the plugs tomorrow and closing the gap from .040 to .035.
Ride along:
Next post the interior should be back together.
Taken earlier.
My new cervini hood should be here by Friday.
Still having a slight miss at idle and sometimes the car stumbles coming to a stop and stalls. Pulling the plugs tomorrow and closing the gap from .040 to .035.
Ride along:
Next post the interior should be back together.
Hi, I am looking at the same wheels for my ride, do you think the fronts would clear a 14” big brake ?. Currently leaning toward either a Baer or Wilwood kit, preferably a wildwood kit. Any insight would be a big help. i could go with the 13” kit but if 14’s would fit, i would prefer to go that direction.
Thanks in advance for any input
Thanks in advance for any input
I honestly have no clue. The guy to ask would be the owner of AFS, his number is on the website. I talked to him for a good 30 min before purchasing the wheels and he's a stand up guy. But if you'd like I can take some pictures of the clearance with the stock brakes if that might help you.
Insane!! I love this build so far and looking forward to seeing it back from paint
Thanks for getting back, I talked to Dane at AFS today, he tells me the wheel will clear a 14” big brake kit. I will be ordering tomorrow.
Thanks so much! Unfortunately I have spent as much as I allotted for this car so paint is going to wait until late summer or later this year. It sucks but the paint is something I will not compromise on.
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