DuPuis Family Cobra Build

Ted DuPuis said:
Interesting that they upgraded the tach to the same one I'm using, and I don't see a speedo.
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I didn't even have a tach on my race cars. Just a RPM limiter.

But a big giant tach and shift light impresses the teenagers...:lol::lol:
 
Zeldman said:
I didn't even have a tach on my race cars. Just a RPM limiter.

But a big giant tach and shift light impresses the teenagers...:lol::lol:
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Wasn't your racing more drag racing, though? To me the tach is the most important driving instrument.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Wasn't your racing more drag racing, though? To me the tach is the most important driving instrument.
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I went drag racing one summer on a whim when a race gas customer had a front engine dragster for sale. The fun kind of left me when it took longer to get into the cockpit than it took to make one run through the 1/4 mile....:lol:

On that dragster it had a 2 speed powerglide tranny. I knew the tack length and rpm I wanted to shift, so all we had to do was get the proper rear gear and tire size to get the final gear ratio, then we worked the governor over until the tranny shifted at the same rpm each and every time. That took the driver mistakes out of shifting. I had VERY consistant ETs.

The engine was protected by a rev limiter in case something went wrong.

Otherwise it was all driving in a circle, dirt and paved. On 1/4 - 1/2 mile tracks there was not enough time to look at gauges. On the 1 to 2 mile tracks there was more time to look. And again, no tach. The rev limiter would protect the engine if there was any unexpected wheel spin. Although on circle tracks there wasn't any shifting at race speeds. And I never did any road tracks.

And speaking of gauges, all of my race cars had an idiot light set up. Looking at gauges took my eyes off of what was happening around me. Oil pressure had a red light at 20 PSI, and water temp had a yellow light at approximately 225f and a red at approx 245f. And a light coming on would attract my attention to that gauge. But remember this was 30 years ago, plus each driver has a different driving style.

I like the current electronic instrument information system being used now that can be customized to fit the drivers needs.
 
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Zeldman said:
I went drag racing one summer on a whim when a race gas customer had a front engine dragster for sale. The fun kind of left me when it took longer to get into the cockpit than it took to make one run through the 1/4 mile....:lol:
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Incidentally, that's a lot of why I've never gotten into drag racing. Whether you're driving something fast or slow, you're talking about 5-15 seconds for the 1/4 mile (I guess the one time I drag raced my 2004 Ram I did about 17 seconds) and that's just too little time in the seat to be entertaining for me.

The rest of what you described also makes sense for when a tach wouldn't be necessary. I'd still want one, but I agree with it not being necessary for those. For the kind of driving I do, the tach matters most. Anyway, the new speedometer is on the way, and my layout is now determined. :)

-- break break --

The last large panel that needed to be painted was painted, so tomorrow we can rivet it in along with a few other panels. All of these panels encompass the area behind the seats.

I also spent some time looking over things and I think I know where I want to put the ECU and the EDIS control module. The EDIS module I think I'll make a bracket and bolt it to one the EDIS coil mount on the driver's side. This area is mostly empty so I can mount it there without it looking ugly or getting in the way of other items.

The MicroSquirt I think I will mount in the driver footwell area. There's a particular spot that I think will be a pain to access once it's all put together, but not that much of a pain, and it will be out of the way of everything else while also putting the wiring in a good location overall. I'll post a video later.

I also started thinking about where I'm going to mount the large fuses for the main breaker panel and the AC compressor, as well as the breaker panel. Basically it's all going to be in the trunk area. I'm just going to accept that there will be very little usable trunk space, and for this car, that's fine. I'm not building it to be practical, and the reality is it will hold what I need it to most of the time.

Tomorrow and over the weekend I hope to get those panels riveted in I mentioned, and maybe start wiring for the ignition and maybe even the EFI...
 
Here's the video I recorded last night. I'm deciding where to mount the ignition module and EDIS module. The more I think about it, the more I think I like the idea of mounting them both in the driver's footwell area. I think that'll still be accessible but also help keep the underhood area cleanest. Also be easier mounting.

 
Good thing I posted that video. :)

I got a few comments from Factory Five builders who pointed out that one metal brace is actually the windshield mount. Oops, can't use that. Good thing I checked before making that mistake. I'll see if I can find a few more photos to see what that area looks like when it's all buttoned up. I think I have a few more ideas for mounting.
 
Last week I found a keychain that I liked for the Cobra's keys, and then went ahead and ordered it:

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I think it'll be a nice touch. :)
 
Nice to see someone protect the bitting of their keys.
 
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Today was a productive day. I managed to drill the holes for the bolts that hold the roll bars in to start. Unfortunately I messed up the orientation/clocking of the two bolts that are visible. I’m going to paint the bolts black and they won’t be too noticeable, but I wish I’d drilled the holes from the other side, that would’ve kept them even. Oh well.

Then I mounted the ECU - this location I think makes the most sense. I’ve decided that the best place for the ignition module will be under the drivers side coil where I thought it should go. So I need to make that bracket and install it.

I also got all the aft cockpit aluminum installed. When I initially drilled the holes for this it didn’t line up very well. So, not surprisingly, I ended up redrilling some holes during install. Not a big deal.

One interesting thing I found is that the starter cable that Factory Five provided is 6 gauge, not 4 as I thought. Now realistically that’s probably fine, even with my high electrical demands. However figuring I have a 200A alternator and a lot of electrical demand, I want the starter and alternator cables sizes to be able to handle that, so I’m going to go with 4 gauge wire for the cables between the battery and starter/alternator, then use the 6 gauge for the power lines to the main fuse box and AC since I have it. If I had a standard low electrical demand Cobra then the 6 gauge would certainly be fine.

I’m becoming more convinced that first start, or at least a first start attempt, will occur next month. It’s a matter of wiring more than anything now.

718B6FBA-2310-470B-912E-F22AE7C30D78.jpeg D34DB01F-240B-4176-951B-9C72C37CB5E9.jpeg
 
Today was a lot more thinking than doing compared to yesterday. I didn’t start on wiring, but I did mount the ignition module. I ended up mounting it on the drivers side “F-panel” (basically inner fender). I decided that was going to be the best compromise of access and appropriate protections. I figured bolting it to the engine probably wasn’t a good idea after all given the extra heat and vibrations.

I then played around with the dash some. Drilled holes for the indicator lights, and then drilled one of the vent holes, or so I thought. Turns out I had the wrong sized hole saw - oops. So now I need to go buy a smaller one, patch the hole, and redo. Won’t be a big deal but I’m not sure why I thought the one I had was right. Oh well.

Then I looked at the turn signal setup, and got a good idea of where I thought it needed to get drilled in. The dash needs to get drilled bigger to accept this, and I need to make sure I have the dash positioned correctly before drilling that hole.

Last thing, as part of that, I put in the drivers seat to look at positioning and ergonomics. Although I’ve sat on the floor of the car before, this was the first time I was able to push the pedals and move the shifter. That was pretty cool. A ways to go, but getting closer.

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The part where drilling a hole is a full commitment is always the hardest. Stuff in the bowels seems to matter less than the dashboard. Looks great!
 
Hang 4 said:
The part where drilling a hole is a full commitment is always the hardest. Stuff in the bowels seems to matter less than the dashboard. Looks great!
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Thanks! The hole on the right for the light is about 1 mm too high but it’s not enough for me to care. Yes, I’ve been going from structural holes (for which location oddly matters minimally) to holes that are visible and thus matter more. But it’s exciting to be coming along.
 
charheep said:
I like the progress and write up. Thanks for taking the time.
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You're welcome, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Really I feel like I'm getting as much out of this as anyone reading. Spending the time writing about and documenting what I've done makes it easier for me to go back and review the thought process I had at the time (which I've done in a few cases). It's also fun to look at some of the previous pages and realize just how much progress has been made. When I look at the car each step is rewarding, but in the past 19 months since taking delivery of the project (and roughly 21 since starting the thread, buying the first parts car, and ordering the kit) is something. I've also gotten some good input and it's fun to be able to throw ideas out there and get feedback, even if I end up just going with what I originally thought.

So, thanks for reading.

With my wife coming home tomorrow, I think Wednesday or Thursday I'm going to go do some shopping and get the AC hoses made and get the hole saw I need to make the proper sized holes in the dash for the HVAC vents.

One decision I changed my mind on - the air/fuel ratio gauge. I thought about it more and did some more research. Ultimately voltage is not a very useful piece of information - I just need to know if the alternator is working or not. And if it's not I do need to do something about it, but not immediately. Air/fuel ratio is a bigger deal, and the price difference between a dedicated standalone WBO2 that feeds the MicroSquirt and nothing else, and a WBO2 gauge that also feeds the MicroSquirt is minimal.

So, I ordered the Autometer 3370 - 2 1/16" AFR gauge that includes sensor and output. That makes 2 out of the original 7 gauges I ordered that I'm not using here, but I'll figure out something else to do with them or else sell them.
 
Yesterday evening I managed to get another few holes drilled and wires made. At this point I've got the master kill switch sitting in place and made the wires going from it to the main fuse box (with its 100A protection fuse), the fuse for the AC compressor, and the battery. I made the alternator to starter wire, and drilled the holes for the battery mount. So all of that is coming along.

One thing I'm trying to figure out is how I want to wire the starter/alternator wire with respect to the kill/battery disconnect switch. My thought is that it needs to be on the same side as the battery. Otherwise, if I hit the disconnect with the engine running, the alternator will continue to power the ECU/ignition and it won't kill the engine. Of course I also have the key which will shut off power, so it depends on what I want the function of the kill switch to be.

One concern of mine is running a consistent 50-150 amps through the switch, which is what it will see in normal operation. I think that with the water pump, ECU, ignition, and fuel pump, 40-50A is probably a reasonable normal operation, and then add in AC, electric fan, and you're easily over 100A. But maybe that just means I need a better kill switch than the one I bought (which admittedly I'm not convinced is the best - it's also a part that's not too hard to replace).

Sometime today or later this week I intend on getting the AC hoses made up, at which point I can really start making things come together.
 
My thought has always been that the battery disconnect switch should isolate the battery from everything else. It is to isolate the battery from potentially damaged wiring, so the battery doesn’t cook off and explode on top of everything else.
 
-KLB- said:
My thought has always been that the battery disconnect switch should isolate the battery from everything else. It is to isolate the battery from potentially damaged wiring, so the battery doesn’t cook off and explode on top of everything else.
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That's exactly the sort of point I was looking for. Isolating the battery it is. The key is the way to kill the engine. Thanks.

This afternoon I ran up to the hose shop and got my AC hoses made. This afternoon I might take a social isolation motorcycle ride to my friend's house to get my AC vacuum pump back and borrow his gauges so that I can get the system sucked down, filled, and (ideally) running. I figure what I will probably do is get the system together, pull a vacuum on it, let it sit overnight or longer - I'm not in a hurry like I was when I did AC work at the shop. Meanwhile, fill the cooling system with water, make sure that it seems to not be leaking, including when pressurized and the water pump is running (benefit of an electric water pump). Once that's all confirmed, add the freon. Even if I don't run the compressor yet at least then the system is properly set up and has freon in it.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Yesterday evening I managed to get another few holes drilled and wires made. At this point I've got the master kill switch sitting in place and made the wires going from it to the main fuse box (with its 100A protection fuse), the fuse for the AC compressor, and the battery. I made the alternator to starter wire, and drilled the holes for the battery mount. So all of that is coming along.

One thing I'm trying to figure out is how I want to wire the starter/alternator wire with respect to the kill/battery disconnect switch. My thought is that it needs to be on the same side as the battery. Otherwise, if I hit the disconnect with the engine running, the alternator will continue to power the ECU/ignition and it won't kill the engine. Of course I also have the key which will shut off power, so it depends on what I want the function of the kill switch to be.

One concern of mine is running a consistent 50-150 amps through the switch, which is what it will see in normal operation. I think that with the water pump, ECU, ignition, and fuel pump, 40-50A is probably a reasonable normal operation, and then add in AC, electric fan, and you're easily over 100A. But maybe that just means I need a better kill switch than the one I bought (which admittedly I'm not convinced is the best - it's also a part that's not too hard to replace).

Sometime today or later this week I intend on getting the AC hoses made up, at which point I can really start making things come together.
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This is the kill switch we used: https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productdetails.asp?RecID=1464 . It's rated at 100 amps continuous and 500 peak. Back when I was racing the other choice was the Lucas kill switch, which occasionally worked a little too well, as was expected considering who made it. The main point of failure was that water leaked down the shaft and corroded the copper disk that connected the two poles. The switch linked to here, which is made by Merit, never let us down, and it's configured for an alternator.

Ted DuPuis said:
That's exactly the sort of point I was looking for. Isolating the battery it is. The key is the way to kill the engine. Thanks.
This afternoon I ran up to the hose shop and got my AC hoses made. This afternoon I might take a social isolation motorcycle ride to my friend's house to get my AC vacuum pump back and borrow his gauges so that I can get the system sucked down, filled, and (ideally) running. I figure what I will probably do is get the system together, pull a vacuum on it, let it sit overnight or longer - I'm not in a hurry like I was when I did AC work at the shop. Meanwhile, fill the cooling system with water, make sure that it seems to not be leaking, including when pressurized and the water pump is running (benefit of an electric water pump). Once that's all confirmed, add the freon. Even if I don't run the compressor yet at least then the system is properly set up and has freon in it.
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A social isolation motorcycle ride sounds good about now. I don't have access to a motorcycle, but it's going to be in the 80s on Sunday, and I do have a Waverunner, and I think it just might get launched for the season Saturday.
 
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FormerHangie said:
This is the kill switch we used: https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productdetails.asp?RecID=1464 . It's rated at 100 amps continuous and 500 peak. Back when I was racing the other choice was the Lucas kill switch, which occasionally worked a little too well, as was expected considering who made it. The main point of failure was that water leaked down the shaft and corroded the copper disk that connected the two poles. The switch linked to here, which is made by Merit, never let us down, and it's configured for an alternator.
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So yesterday I saw your post, read about the switch and its wiring, and slept on it some, and I think I'll order it. The one that I bought is definitely a significantly lower quality, and I like the fact that this switch will offer a full and proper setup for shutting down the engine when turned as well as disconnecting the battery while also doing a better job of protecting the alternator and rest of the electrical system. To me that seems to do the job more appropriately than the single-circuit, and the extra wiring would be easy to accomplish.

A social isolation motorcycle ride sounds good about now. I don't have access to a motorcycle, but it's going to be in the 80s on Sunday, and I do have a Waverunner, and I think it just might get launched for the season Saturday.
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That sounds like a good plan. I did an initial opening-season look-over on the motorcycles and they're both looking in good shape and started up. Time to get the winter dust off of them. I'll see, I may put it off but the weather is nice and it would be good to get the parts I need anyway, so it seems like a good idea to me.
 
There's not been a lot for updates on the Cobra. Between the Harley, now getting the Guzzi, and doing a lot of thinking, there's been other stuff going on. But I've been thinking about the Cobra, and on Sunday my plan is to ship the kids to the babysitter for the day to, among other things, spend some time working on the wiring. I went over the wiring for the Microsquirt. It has a total of 36 pins, of which I am going to be using 16 total. There are a lot of capabilities and features that I'm not going to use, which is just fine. So that plus 9 pins for the ignition module, really not bad at all. If I'm lucky, I can get those completed on Sunday.

I've also found some 90 degree fittings for the AC hoses where they go into the compressor, which I'm going to order. These will give me some more options with hose routing, although they're expensive at $45 each (blegh) and seemingly no other similar ones available. Still, it makes sense to go that route. But the AC can't be charged until then. I figure this weekend though I will try to get the plumbing in for the AC hoses at the evaporator and the heater core, the latter of which will let me fill the cooling system (with water first) and start doing some tests there. If the cooling system all seems to work without any leaks, then I will probably next move on to putting oil in the pan and priming the engine as far as systems to get ready.

Also, I got new valve covers. I like these a lot better:

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The claim was they "should" clear "most" roller rockers and high lift cams. I haven't tried barring the engine over with them in place yet. If they need a little extra height I can always add spacers, but I think they should be f
 
Sunday I dropped the kids off at the babysitter's after breakfast and got going working on the Cobra. Cranked the AC down in the garage to make it nice and comfortable for working. Got myself set up, plugged in the soldering iron, and went to work.

Normally I'm not much of an electrical person but I really enjoyed doing this. Maybe it was just the peaceful nature of it and getting to spend time in the garage, maybe it was the fact that the kids weren't in the house and I had the place completely to myself, probably a bit of both.

The job went well. The pre-made Microsquirt harness that I bought had all the wires nicely labeled and color-coded. I verified the wires going to the correct pins before soldering and they all were in the correct pin, so that's good.

I did end up incorrectly soldering one wire - the MAP signal wire that I soldered to the TPS signal wire coming out of the TPS sensor. Oops. Those sensors use the same +5V reference and signal ground wire, so I was working on them concurrently and just made the error. Cut the wires and resoldered, no problem.

At this point basically all I have left to do as far as the EFI and ignition is concerned is the +12V wires going to the Microsquirt, ignition module, ignition coils, and fuel injectors. Those are straightforward enough, I just need to decide how exactly to route them and then run the wires up from the back where I have my main power distribution.

The next steps now are finishing plumbing up the heater core, getting some fittings for the AC compressor and plumbing that up, and then working on the dashboard to get the gauges going. And, of course, main electrical. Coming along...

My two videos for the weekend, for your viewing pleasure. :)


 
Sunday I managed to get a few hours in the garage working on the Cobra and I accomplished two milestones - getting the AC system completely plumbed and evacuated, and getting the cooling system/heater completely plumbed and started to fill.

I know it doesn't seemingly make a ton of sense to fill the AC first. Theoretically I don't have to, but for how I'm building and developing this car it made sense. The "bird box" as we called it at the shop (the box that holds the AC and evaporator cores) needs to get hooked into the cooling system or else I needed to plug off the ports going to it to fill the engine with coolant/water. I want this area to be thoroughly tested/vetted before I put the body on since it will effectively be unserviceable once the body is on the car. So, before putting anything in the cooling system, the heater core needs to be plugged in. And if I'm doing that, I may as well do the AC as well and make sure those hoses are getting routed correctly.

I'd already figured out the general routing of everything so the task at hand mostly came down to actually connecting everything. Getting the bird box in place was a pain. Since the hoses for it are supposed to go forward but can't due to the individual throttle body EFI, I had to put 90 degree hose bends on them to come out the side of the box. This meant that in installing the box I had to try to get two pretty much inaccessible hoses on their respective copper pipes while putting the box in. Don't forget also running the drains for the AC and also the wiring, which I needed to run through a hole in there as well. Yeah, not exactly fun.

Once the box was in I connected the AC hoses and went through connecting all of them up. Lubed the O-rings in ester oil, tightened everything down, and then got the vacuum pump on and vacuuming. Let it suck the system down for about 45 minutes and got to 29" or so of vacuum (which is basically 100% vacuum). However when I then went to add R-134a to the system, I found that the gauges/hoses I had didn't have the correct fitting for the bottle (I only fill with a full sized bottle, I don't use cans). First time I've run into that, so I ordered an adapter fitting from Amazon.

I then got the heater core hoses fully plumbed, open the bleed holes, and started filling the system. I got about 2.5 or 3 gallons in before I realized I didn't have the coolant temperature sensor probe in the intake (oops) and so I couldn't fill it all the way. But that gave me a good bleed hole. I think bleeding this system fully because of the heater core location and the hoses being run will take some time. This is where the electric water pump will likely come in handy - once I get the coolant temp sensor probe installed and the system sealed up, I can power on the electric water pump to start circulating things and add water as needed.

And yes, I am filling the system with water for the moment. The reason is simple - I want to make sure the cooling system is working and holding before putting in coolant. I wanted to fill the cooling system to try to make sure there aren't leaks in it and also make sure the intake manifold is properly sealed to the heads and there aren't any leaks there. I'll be pulling the drain plugs on the oil pan to make sure there's no water leaking into there, but so far it seems to be holding. No pressure has been applied yet, though.

Oh, and then the adapter came from Amazon. It wasn't what was pictured, it was an adapter from the larger threaded fitting on the bottle to a low side AC quick disconnect. That ended up letting me put some refrigerant in the system, but not actually properly fill it. However realistically I wasn't going to fill it just yet anyway. The compressor, being a 3-phase electric, has a complicated controller that needs to get wired in - I can't simply apply power to the compressor clutch and have it work. And I don't have the trunk metal fully installed which will determine where I place this controller, so the timing isn't quite right for me to hook that up. This will at least have some refrigerant in the system, which is what I need for the time being.

The next step is going to be the dashboard. I've been sort of putting that off, but it needs to get done so that I can fill the holes of oil pressure, oil temp, and coolant temp in the engine, and then I can start on the wiring for that area as well. Somewhat ironically, I'm mostly running the wiring in reverse - from where it will be consumed to where it will be supplied. This is actually working pretty well for me.
 
Well, remember that the engine thermostat won't be open, so running the electric water pump won't push water everywhere. May just want to run the pump after the engine warmed up so that you could cycle water pump after shut down if desired, or remove thermostat (kind of decreases the purpose of bleeding system though).
 
SoonerAviator said:
Well, remember that the engine thermostat won't be open, so running the electric water pump won't push water everywhere. May just want to run the pump after the engine warmed up so that you could cycle water pump after shut down if desired, or remove thermostat (kind of decreases the purpose of bleeding system though).
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The thermostat housing I'm using has a bypass, so it will still do some circulating. However really using the pump with the thermostat closed should force more coolant through the heater core, which is actually exactly what I want to have happen.
 
I got a couple of videos posted... one of which apparently had been sitting in my phone since February and I neglected to upload. Oops.

The Cobra is now at a point where I don't expect to do anything to it until after I get the work on the Harley completed, so it will be sometime in July before I see further progress on it. But I'm really looking forward to the work on the Harley and getting to ride it! I'll be updating that thread soon...
 
Oops, it does help if I post the videos. :)


 
I also have almost 350 subscribers now, which is pretty neat. :)
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Oh believe me, that engines been all over the Factory Five builder Facebook group. Not what I’d put in, but someone will.
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A 7 liter cast iron block engine isn't going to do anything good for the car's weight distribution.
 
FormerHangie said:
A 7 liter cast iron block engine isn't going to do anything good for the car's weight distribution.
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Exactly my thoughts. But you have people putting in 460s, so someone will do it.

These days the Coyote engine is the most popular one to be put into Factory Five Cobras, followed by either 351W stroked to 427s or 302s stroked to 347s, I'm not sure which. But there are a few folks who put in a 460 with a TKO and 2.73s in back, and love turning 1900 RPM @ 85 MPH. To me the Cobra is the wrong car for that, but "built, not bought".

I think the idea that the 302-based blocks are best for the car is probably accurate, but most people don't seem to find the 351 cars objectionable, and my 351W car will still be lighter up front than most 302-based cars between aluminum heads, manual steering and brakes, and other bits.
 
Well it's disappointing that it's been nearly 3 months since my last post in this thread. However as you all know (at least those of you who follow my "thinking about" threads), there's been a few other things going on in my life. :)

I basically took the summer off from wrenching on the Cobra, or even really thinking about it, to focus working on the motorcycle, RV and Land Rover purchases, getting set up doing home school with the kids, shutting down Cloud Nine, and also making progress on the work we've been doing around the house. The latter of those is basically just directing others but there's still work to do as far as getting the permit goes, making design decisions, things like that. I'll probably make a post on the shop because it's pretty cool and I'll have some things I could likely use input on.

It's been so long, in fact, that I more or less forgot where I was and had to regroup to figure out what exactly it is I should be getting back to working on. Probably still a few weeks out on that with some other open projects, but I have to get my brain back in that mode. Really, I could do any of a few different things:

- Main electrical system wiring
- Wiring up the AC (maybe temporarily) to get it tested and filled the rest of the way
- Covering the dashboard aluminum in vinyl and then getting the gauges mounted, and install the dash

I think that the third of those items is probably what I should be focusing on next, as that also is necessary for filling the coolant the rest of the way since I don't have a coolant temp probe in currently. From there, the main electrical probably makes sense to be focusing on next.

What I would really like is to have the car running so that I can drive it into the new building and have it be the first vehicle that gets driven into the building. Realistically, that doesn't seem entirely likely to happen as I expect the building to be ready to drive into in about 2 months, and I probably won't have it running at that point. Maybe I'm wrong on that. It mostly depends on how many items come up for me to do on the RV and Land Rover after the next trip.

One thing that's bugging me more is the brake line for the rear brakes coming down from the master cylinder. It gets quite close (about 1") to the exhaust headers. I'm using DOT 5.1 fluid so it should have a higher boiling point. I also put some fire sleeve around it, but am wondering if I shouldn't also put on a heat shield or perhaps header wrap, at least around the lower section of the headers. Something to consider. The latter option would have the benefit of also helping to make the footwells a bit less hot.
 
Header wrapping is a little difficult to master and time consuming, but well worth the trouble.
 
I still haven't touched the Cobra, and realistically it'll be later this year (if not next year) before I get back to it in any significant capacity, with the priorities being on the RV and the Rover to keep them and our family trips going. The goal is to make sure that we never have to scrub a trip with the RV, so that just is what it is. I really want to hear that engine run and would love for it to be the first car that I drive into the new shop when it's built under its own power, but that probably won't happen.

However, Jay Leno got to drive a 427 SC and I thought it was worth sharing:

 
3393RP said:
Header wrapping is a little difficult to master and time consuming, but well worth the trouble.
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Late to the response on this, but I tend to think you're right. The last time I wrapped headers was in college, and to be honest I have no idea if I did a decent job or not back then. I've already installed the headers so removing them would be annoying to wrap them, but I suspect that keeping that heat out of the engine bay is probably the way to go.

I have to think some more on this, but what might be the thing to do would be get at least past first start and into the Go-Kart stage a bit and then pull them off to do it, when I may have to do some other work anyway.
 
Last night I walked around the Cobra some, trying to look at where I was and figure out what I need to do next in the quest to keep moving forward. The reality is none of it is going to happen too soon just because my bandwidth is absorbed on RV and Disco projects (and trying to get the shop built). But maybe I'll get some time here and there.

My next steps can end up in one of three areas:

1) Electrical. Need to make more progress on the main wiring both around the rear of the car (where I have the main power distribution and relays) and also from the front to the rear.

2) Dashboard. The dash aluminum panel is ready to be covered and then have the gauges installed. I could argue doing this either before or after the main wiring above. Ultimately I think this is sort of a six of one half dozen of the other sort of choice, but I'm thinking the dash might make more sense, that way when I run wires up it'll just be the appropriate power wires, sort of a subsystem of the electrical.

3) Dynamat and carpeting for most of the interior and the trunk. I do still have to do some metalwork related to the trunk because of the AC compressor location back there, and how it sticks above the floor pan. This is one that doesn't really need to be done at this point, but is something I might do anyway because it's something that I can do relatively easily without needing a more significant block of time.

Truthfully the biggest problem I have with getting progress done on this right now is the garage. After tearing down one of our outbuildings in preparation for the new shop (not to mention RV/Land Rover projects and other projects that we have stuff for) the garage is really packed. I can't even get to working on it without moving things around. Maybe I'll get motivated enough to piddle on it some evenings and move enough around to get at it.

It would be nice if I could get the car running in time to get it driven into the shop, but I just don't see that happening. Really at this point it's just wiring and some clean-up to make that happen, but it's a good amount of wiring. Theoretically the shop should be done sometime in December, but between weather and general contractor delays, who knows when we'll get the thumbs up from the county for occupancy. I want it done but maybe if it takes longer that'll actually make it more likely I can get the Cobra driving in time. :)
 
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