Radiator

Finally got round to fitting the radiator and electric fan.

Not too much trauma with this.
I loose fitted the radiator initially to work out where the electric fan would be positioned. The 16" fan kit I have came with a variety of fittings including the ones that tie through the core. I didn't fancy those and managed to work out some bracketry to fix the fan cowl to the chassis.






I used some rubber tap washers around the locating pegs and top bolts

Rolling chassis

A bit more progress.
Since getting the engine in I've been concentrating on all the little ancillary jobs that are needed before I can test fire the engine.
My outline plan is to get to a point where I can fire up the motor and do the initial run in before doing final fit on the body.
This means I'll need to

• complete the fuel pipe
• Fit engine oil filter
• Fill with Oil
• Set static engine timing
• Install distributor
• Fit oil pressure and water temperature senders.
• Spark plugs and leads
• Fit radiator and hoses
• Header tank
• Electric cooling fan
• Cooling fan switch
• Fit exhausts
• Wire up Rev counter, oil pressure gauge and water temperature gauge.
• Wire up starter motor and rig up a temporary starter button.

Fuel Pipe
So I've started on the fuel system and run the fuel pipe part way down the chassis. The build manual suggest that the fuel pipe should be run from the tank directly underneath the diff then across to the inside chassis rail. AK supply a stainless cover plate to protect the fuel line under the diff. I must admit to being a bit concerned about this arrangement - despite that fact that AK and lots of others use that route to pass IVA. I found an article on the forum from Jaykay about an alternative route through the suspension arms round the side of the diff so that's what I've decided to do.
The idea is to use 10mm copper pipe with a couple of soldered elbows, then fabricate a suitable bracket to support the pipe as it passes through the suspension. This ends up with a rigid pipe route that is clear of the drive shaft and not affected by the suspension travel. The rest of the fuel pipe I've decided to run using rubber.

Fuel pipe section from tank 

Fuel pipe section underneath drivesharft

Fuel pipe section exiting suspension area

Engine filter, oil and timing.
A bit more work on the engine - as I had removed the distributor, I took the opportunity to fill the engine oil through the hole. I read somewhere that filling through the rocker covers takes an age. I firstly filled the oil filter with oil before fitting this.
Next problem was to set the static timing. The trick is to find Top Dead Centre on No 1 cylinder. On the Chevy 350, No 1 cylinder is the one nearest the front of the engine, so UK passenger side front.
I rotated the engine using the front pulley bolt (Chevy engine rotates clockwise when viewed from front) until the timing line on the harmonic balancer was at TDC. You need to confirm that this matches the firing position, in other words, at TDC both valves on No 1 cylinder should be closed. I did this by removing the rocker cover and observing the movement of the valves. The valves should remain closed for a half turn of the crankshaft up to TDC - in other words during the compression stroke. Some folks stick their finger over the spark plug holes to detect the pressurization of the cylinder but that's hard to do without an assistant. Next task is to refit the distributor.I bought an oil priming tool from Roadcraft which is useful for turning the oil pump shaft to line up the distributor drive gear to the oil pump while you line up the distributor rotor with plug cap no 1 of the distributor.  This process has given me a basic start point for the timing. In reality I'll have to remove and reset the distributor prior to starting the engine for the first time as I will need to use the oil primer tool to pressurize the oil.

Rocker cover removed while setting static timing

Engine Fit

At long last - the day came to install the engine and gearbox to the rolling chassis.
I booked the services of my mate Mark Edwards who fortunately had a Draper Engine crane he bought when building a Westfield a few years ago.

I wasn't quite sure of the full weight of the engine/gearbox combination, however a fair bit of it is alloy - cylinder heads, inlet manifold, water pump etc so that reduced it a bit. I also removed the starter motor (for weight) and distributor (to avoid damage).

I bought a lifting plate off e-bay which turned out to be just the job. The idea is you remove the carburetor and fix this plate over the inlet manifold using the carb studs. Added bonus of sealing the manifold so nothing drops in to cause damage later. I admit to being a bit worried about all that engine weight hanging from the 4 carb studs into an alloy casting - but turned out to be no problem.
The crane we had was rated at 1000kg, dropping to 250kg at full extent. We actually managed to lift the engine at the 250kg setting which was just as well due to the reach required.

 The gearbox end does drop a fair bit on lifting but was easy to manually level while we maneuvered the lump around.












We found it easier to roll the chassis up to the crane to position everything and we took a few breathers to take stock of progress. We hit a problem with the alignment of the front mounting brackets. Basically when the engine brackets were out of line with the chassis brackets by around 1cm, which meant that the rubber bobbins were really distorted. After much pondering we decided that the only practical solution was to remove one of the engine brackets and re-drill the holes to suit the chassis.
So all done and bolted down at the front, ensuring that the gearlever was central to the chassis.

Drivers side bracket - all in line

Slightly out of line passenger side

My mate Mark Edwards

With the engine finally down on the front mounts we used a ratchet strap to hold the gearbox tail in position while we worked out how to fit the gearbox mounting bracket. This is a bit of a fiddle as you have to raise the car sufficiently to mark,  drill and tap the chassis from below. I used 4 x M10 Setscrews to fix the bracket and I don't think its going anywhere!

Having the crane around was quite handy for raising the rear of the car while working on the gearbox bracket - with suitable axle stands deployed of course! 

So major milestone achieved - Engine in!

I took the opportunity to fit the starter motor and rotated the solenoid to be below the motor as recommended in a number of threads on the forum. This seems to solve problems with heat soak causing starting problems.

Now to crack on with the build!

Brakes

What with weddings and holidays the summer has been a bit of a write off so progress has slowed somewhat.

I decided it would be a good plan to test fit the body and make up the brake pipes to the servo. My logic was to bleed and pressurize the brake system so I could confirm all was well with the servo and my brake pipes before having the engine in the way. This also meant I could fix the brake pipes to the master cylinder without any additional joints.

So with a bit of help the body was dropped on the chassis. As the fuel tank was now installed I had to cut a hole in the boot floor to clear the tank filler.

The next task was to fit the Rover 45 brake servo I got from e-bay. - this is a very tight fit and I hope never has to come out!

Brake Servo and Clutch Master Cylinders

Followed by the AK pedal box which is a tad awkward to fit just because of where it is.
I also fitted the clutch master cylinder and fixed to the clutch pedal with a 5/16 clevis pin. The threaded rod needed to be trimmed in order to line up the clutch and brake pedals.

















 I then fitted the brake pipes to the master cylinder using my hand held flaring tool and some 3/8 UNF male pipe fittings.

I drilled and taped holes in the inner wings to eventually fix p-clips to secure the brake lines after final body fix.

My bleeding assistant!

So finally it was time to bleed the brakes, and good news  - only one leaking fitting that just needed a nip up. In truth the biggest problem was that I'd fitted the front calipers upside down so the bleed nipples were at the bottom - very hard to get the air out! 10 minutes later with these corrected, and with help from my assistant on the pedal - all done.

Really pleased with the result - very solid pedal and no leaks. The draper flaring tool must have worked well!

Powerrrr!

While all this building has been going on I placed my order for the engine and transmission which have now arrived.

I went for a 350 Chevy from Roadcraft  - rated at 355hp - and a beautiful looking thing it is too!

I also went for the Tremec TKO500 box which I installed with a little help from my neighbor.

The engine shipped with the bell-housing attached, so mistake #1 was to attempt to attach the gearbox to the bell-housing which proved impossible in trying to line up the input shaft with the clutch release bearing and clutch centre. So off with the bell-housing, attache that to the gearbox and present the whole assembly to the engine - easy!

As with all these things there are questions I wish I'd thought of before placing the order. It turns out that the engine I have is certified as a 1978 block so that gets me in the right emissions band.
However, its clear that this engine has not been run in by the builder and the carb has not seen a drop of fuel. I would have thought that the engine would have been run and I'm pretty sure some other builders do this - I never though to ask!

That said, the installation and running in instructions are very informative and I'm not predicting any problems in getting it going. They do go on at length about the running in procedure and its importance and Brian @ Roadcraft did recommend using break-in oil and and using an oil priming tool to circulate oil and check oil pressure before first start so as not to ruin the camshaft. This is mentioned several times in the notes so must be a real worry.

Roadcraft evidently build their engines with flat tappets rather than roller - which is why they are more susceptible to wear. Also on these older engines, you need to be careful when selecting oil as the latest synthetic stuff doesn't contain the high zinc content needed to maintain the wearing surfaces of the cam lobes.

Finally the run in instructions say to run the engine at fast idle for 20 minutes and to make sure there is at least three gallons of fuel in the tank! - wow!

I think on balance I'd have paid extra for the roller cam but too late now and I'm sure with care all will be well.

Rolling Chassis

Bit of a while since last update but that's just because I'm behind on admin  -there's been lots going on.

The AK Gen 2 build manual is pretty good at getting you to the rolling chassis stage. Its a logical progression through the required tasks with some good photo's to assist.

One of the first things to do is to fit the ball joints to the top and bottom front wishbones. I wonder how many other AK builders get exited and frustrated by this first real assembly task only to find that AK don't supply the ball joints in the kit..... So, a good read through the manual to find all the parts needed to complete the rolling chassis is a great idea:

I needed:
Upper and lower front ball joints
Lower front ball joint set screws - 4 per side - threadlocked
Front Wheel Bearings
Front Disk Rotors and Pads
Rear Disk Rotors and pads
Steering rack bolts.
Lock wire for rear brake caliper bolts
Copper Grease and High Temp Grease
Rear Wheel Bearings
Rear Fulcrum Bearings
Universal Joints for drive shafts
Differential Oil
Build Wheels

Quite a parts list and a fair few quid. - aside from the  build wheels that I got for free from fellow builder Craig Perry.

Once all the parts are to hand, you do feel that you can make some rapid progress and get a sense of achievement.

In my case I was able to follow the manual quite successfully. I had one or two issues on the way. The first was the front wheel bearings. Once fitted and tightened according to the manual, the hubs were nearly impossible to turn by hand. The grease seal feels like its binding on the hub shaft. After a few minutes on the Cobra Forum - it turns out that this is normal and they ease off quickly once the car gets under way. I subsequently found this is correct; once I got the build wheels on and started moving the chassis around they started to turn freely.

It was quite an exercise leveling the chassis to perform the conjuring trick with the AK supplied paper castor gauge and a piece of string. It seems that the suspension points and chassis alignment are nearly right - I guess that s what you get with a hand built chassis. I persevered then discovered a plumb bob app for iphone ( there are loads of them). This was a lot easier to use and I suspect quite accurate. The procedure of shuffling washers between top and bottom wishbone bolts is a simple yet effective way of arriving at a reasonable setup.

I fitted the diff assembly on my own - and having done so I'd suggest getting someone to help. I loaded the diff onto a small trolley then jacked up the rear of the chassis to a suitable height to push the diff into the frame..

Here are a few pictures of some of the assembly

Handbrake Actuator

One item that didn't go according to the manual was the handbrake assembly. Basically the standard AK cables proved to be too long by about 1". This meant that the actuating lever which is on top of the diff was too far forward to get an effective pull. Impossible to modify the cables and I tried a different set from Craig Perry which had the same problem.
In the end I modified the bracket to allow for the extra cable length.

Another issue I'm not happy about is the rear brake flexy pipes. On my installation the pipes will bank on the chassis rail with suspension movement - an IVA fail - so I'll have to look at banjo angles to make sure the pipe is in free space.

Brake Pipes

I bought this bit of kit from Draper to make up the brake pipe flares. Its easy to use and seems to make good quality flares ( I will find out in due course!). Added bonus that it can be used without a vice or bench.

Must admit I'm quite chuffed with the pipe runs I've managed to create - look quite neat. I decided to use Cupro-Nickel pipes rather than the standard copper. Price is not much higher and they have a much higher burst pressure. I've fixed the pipes using rubber lined p-clips, drilled and tapped into chassis.

And now its on wheels....

Feels great to have got to the stage where I can wheel the chassis around. The build wheels I have are 15" and actually too small for the front brake calipers. I had to put washers over the wheel studs to push them out of contact with the calipers.

More refurbishment

Several other builders send their rear hub carriers off to Wards or other refurbishers and I have to admit they do seem to come back looking pristine. I took a leaf out of my old mans book - if you can do it yourself - get on with it!
The first job is to remove the brake disk backing plate and torque plate by removing the four allen screws. The plates were fairly well corroded onto the carrier but a dose of WD-40 did the trick.
The thinner disk splash shield can be discarded.
The next operation is to drift out the wheel bearing races and the fulcrum races. The wheel bearing races are easy to remove, just have to be careful not to damage the soft alloy housing. The fulcrum races are a complete pain. There may well be a special puller for removing these but as I didn't have one I had to use a piece of bent rod to drift them out. The problem is the fulcrum tube is narrower than the races so you cant get a straight drift on them. I reckon it took over an hour to get these things out - and there are four of them!
With the carriers now completely stripped I set about cleaning them up with rotary wire brush then a quick coat of aluminium spray paint.

Before and after!

Its then a case of pressing in the new bearing races. A press would be really handy for this but all I had was a hammer! I hit on the idea of using the old bearing races, reversed, to drive in the new races. This plan was working well, right until both the new and old races bound into the hub...so drifting them out again and back to the drawing board. Then I realised that cutting through the old races with the angle grinder allowed me to spring the old races out when they started to bind. Job done!

Next job was to refurb the torque plates, so wire brushing, degreasing then hammerite was applied. The torque plate also contains the brake shoe expanders which should be dissasembled and regreased. Lots of small parts in here so need to make sure they don't get lost. There is a good image in the build manual to help with reassembly.

I managed to obtain a new set of brake shoe retainers and springs from Jaguar Heritage and remembered to insert the retaining pins before refitting the torque plates.
I decided that now would be a good time to fit the brake shoes and springs on the bench rather than on the car - saves your back and a lot easier to see whats going on.

So at the end of all this I had two refurbished hub carriers - looking pretty smart too. However I'd say with the cost of parts, you don't save very much by doing this job yourself.

The next bit of refurbishment was the front hubs which required new bearings. These were reasonably easy to drift out, then used the old bearing races suitably slotted to press in the new bearings. I had an issue with the bearing kits - I ordered them from British Parts - JLM1707. The issue was that, while the part number is correct, the bearings supplied are not to Jaguar specification. The inner and outer bearings are different sizes, however the inner bearings were too small. The bearings were branded PowerTune and on investigation it looked like the kits which come as an inner, outer bearing plus a grease seal - were incorrectly assembled. I contacted BritishParts who didn't believe there could be a problem but nevertheless refunded the items but annoyingly not the cost of delivery or my return shipping costs. Very annoying given their faulty parts. I subsequently obtained the same JLM1707 part from Dave Manners, (branded Timken) and funnily enough were a perfect fit!

And finally - the brake calipers. As I live near Worcester, I took them down to Bigg Red for a complete refurb, new seals, pistons etc. The brakes are definitely not something I wanted to DIY and I was particularly keen on the pressure test service. Bigg Red will do various finishes and colours, however as the boss hadn't decided on colour scheme I just had them painted silver. Have to say BiggRed did a great job and not a bad price either. I've subsequently painted them with Hamerite to create a better and more durable finish.

Derek Hill

Derek Hill - 1935-2015 RIP

Not strictly a post about my car build but this bank holiday my dad suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. A passionate engineer with a real can-do attitude, my dad was a major inspiration in undertaking the Cobra build and was a source of advice, guidance and leg pulling that I will sorely miss.
To most of us our dad is some sort of hero; mine was a super-hero. There was no problem, mechanical ,electrical or hydraulic that he couldn't work out and I hope in some small way I can follow that style.
I'm gutted he will not be here to see the Cobra completed but there will be a part of him in it and I'll always remember that when we hit the road.

Collection day

12th February had arrived and as promised my kit was ready for collection. As I live in Worcestershire, I pondered getting AK to deliver it, but in the end, I decided collecting it would be good as I could ask  load of questions while up in Peterborough. Also, It would be an entertaining day trip out. I had already had a towbar fitted to the trusty Kuga, so I hired a trailer for the day from the local Hire-It. These guys were very helpful, however when the guy saw my brand new tow ball, the inevitable "have you towed before?" question followed. To which I had to reply "no"! He seemed to think I was very brave taking a 25" long trailer all the way to Peterborough on my first attempt but nevertheless I set off with my mate Bill Holden for moral support.
The journey was great fun and we arrived unscathed at the AK factory.
Jon at AK didn't reckon much to my parking and so took over the trailer reversing task so we could load the kit.

Loading up at AK

Here's one I prepared earlier!

 

So we loaded up with all the parts for my phase 1 build.

AK Gen II Chassis and Body, complete with engine bay stainless steel cladding pre-fitted.

All AK modified suspension components all bubble wrapped.

Twin three legged roll hoops.

Radiator.

Steering rack and power steering pump.

Coil spring/damper units

Handbrake cables and brake flexies.

 

The ride home was great fun with loads of rubber necking from folks all wondering what was on the back of the trailer.

 

 

Finally cracked the reversing!

 Once at home, I'd arrange for four people to be around so we could safely lift the body from the chassis. I had previously built a timber framed sledge with casters to place the body on, hopefully making it easy in future to move the body out of the way. Fortunately I have a double garage so the chassis now occupies one half and the body the other.

The new man cave