back of the spindle.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Cobra-0171-2
Here is a shot of the pin that holds the caliper on. I am still not sure as to why the tolerances are better than as shown. I also dont know why there is a second groove in the pin, unless this pin is designed to use with multiple brake kits.
Cobra-0169
Working on the front brakes. The Cobra front calipers are interesting because there are no bolts that hold the caliper on. Instead its pressed in at the top and secured at the bottom with a pin and C clip. Its a very simple design and simple is good!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Cobra-0148-2
I assembled the passenger side rear brake caliper yesterday. These are Mustang Cobra 11.65" rotors,so an adapter bracket was needed to offset the Thunderbird knuckle, which used 10.172 rotors. These offset brackets are Forte's. I was really happy with them, and with the calipers supplied by Forte's as well.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Cobra-0144-2
Here is the passenger side rear caliper. I am in the process of removing the "junky" stock pads.
Cobra-0143-2
Although I am still waiting on the brake pads, I figured I would start going over the brake components for the rear assemblies. These are Forte's custom spacers to fit the larger cobra brakes. These are made out of aluminum and are nice and light.
Cobra-0141-2
I could not fit any of Breeze's seals in the passenger side. Other than that the assembly was fairly easy and took a fraction of the time the driver's side did. But I suppose that is the way it goes.
Cobra-0138
Last night I moved on to the passenger side rear suspension assembly. I ended up getting the shim bored out to the correct size without too much trouble. A little white lithium grease to cut down on the squeaking and I was ready for assembly
Monday, April 18, 2011
Cobra-0118
Here is one seal I was able to get to fit. it should work well as there is zero clearance now.
Cobra-0124
The upper control arm is mounted directly over the rear axle. The brackets were slightly bent inwards, so Nicole had place the spacer as I used a hickory mallet handle to spread the brackets apart. Teamwork makes it possible!
Cobra-0126
Here is a shot of the rear shock and control arm clearance. I need to get some safety wire to attach the spring to the hat.
Cobra-0125
I found these seals from Breeze motorsports that fit between the IRS bushings and the control arm. The problem is that most of the control arms are somewhat bent and I cant fit the seal in. Rather than bending the arms out and weakening them, I opted to use the seals only when there was enough space. So far I have fit 2 out of 6.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Cobra-0109
A trip to Lowe's and I had my 5/8" bolts and lock nuts. The bolts are grade 8, but the nuts are not. In looking at the F5 bolts, I think I am OK. I doubt they are using grade 8 lock nuts.
Cobra-0104
I had to use the trusty 3/4 rod again to spread the rear mount bracket. I used the increments of a floor jack to step down the rear in efforts to not undo my afternoon's struggle of getting the pumpkin in. Worked out well and finished tightening up all four bolts.
Cobra-0102
Next up is Forte's solid mounts. Since the rear mount is solid, the fronts should be as well. The factory rubber mounts may be what leads most to crack their rear diff housing that so many T bird and Cougar owners seem to do. This should have taken all of 2 minutes, but the drilled holes in the chassis were not lining up correctly! BLAST!
Cobra-0101
After jacking, slamming, twisting, lifting, pushing, grinding, prying, cursing, and crying the pumpkin was finally in! I wish I had a better picture than this to frame for the occasion!
Cobra-0099
I saw online many folks using strap downs to help get the pumpkin in. I used one to help center the pumpkin better as it start tilting badly and I was afraid the jack was going to fly out from underneath, sending the 63.5 pound aluminum ball crashing down. I just strapped it around the gas tank frame and it worked pretty good...
Cobra-0097
And then it got stuck. Why would factory five make these supporting brackets this way? Thankfully, Forte's already clearanced most of the pumpkin, but a little more was needed. Here you can see a tab that is clearly not going to pass the bar. That was removed and about 5 mm was clearanced from the other side. Seriously? The support bars cant be 1-2 cm further apart to make this easier?
Cobra-0096
And this much clearance on the front. WOA! so I began to move on with the lifting process.
Cobra-0094
I decided to start Saturday off with building the rear end. I needed to drill a few of the cockpit aluminum panels first, so I rushed that and pulled all of those panels out. The manual says that in order to get the pumpkin in, it must be rotated upwards and sideways as show to get it in. Here I have it lined up ready to go supported by a floor jack.
Cobra-0088-2
Front and rear rotors. Russell brake lines, Solid differential mounts, and rear caliper mounting brackets
Cobra-0087-2
Aluminum IRS differential with 3.73 gears. Rear cobra brake calipers (still need waiting on the pads). The pedal box cage, and CNC triple master cylinder reservoirs.
Cobra-0086
Parts finally started showing up! Wilwood pedal assembly including adjustable pedals and forged arms.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
No Update!
Just checking in... no real update today other than I called back both part suppliers to figure out where is???
My gas tank and accessories?
My fuel pump?
My brake and clutch master cylinders and reservoirs?
My pedal box?
My front and rear brake calipers, pads, and rotors?
My axle nuts and rear knuckle assembly bolts?
My flexible brake lines?
My rear differential and 3.73 gears?
All of which has not been shipped :-/ I have a good bit of work ahead once this stuff starts coming in. It sounds like it could be another week or two before it starts coming in.
In the mean time I will keep busy drilling out rivet holes and practice bending brake lines...
Cheers!
My gas tank and accessories?
My fuel pump?
My brake and clutch master cylinders and reservoirs?
My pedal box?
My front and rear brake calipers, pads, and rotors?
My axle nuts and rear knuckle assembly bolts?
My flexible brake lines?
My rear differential and 3.73 gears?
All of which has not been shipped :-/ I have a good bit of work ahead once this stuff starts coming in. It sounds like it could be another week or two before it starts coming in.
In the mean time I will keep busy drilling out rivet holes and practice bending brake lines...
Cheers!
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