working on a kit

[sicndhed]

Started to mock up the engine in my FFR. Going to be tight with a carbed LS. As it sits it has about 4” of clearance to the oil pan. It would be nice to gain another ½” for a taller air filter but I think the pan would be making too many sparks.

 

[OLE PONY]

That's a tight fit! Good luck.

 

[Luke]

My friend Adrian has a LS in his Cobra. Will take notice of how it fits. Those LS engines are light and make lots of power for not a lot of bucks. But I guess that's why you have 1 Look forward to the updates

 

[sicndhed]

A lot of people hate the LS series. I wouldn’t disagree with those who say it’s, cheap, common or has no soul but “she may be ugly but she sure can cook.” I wouldn’t want to use an LS in a hot rod without a hood but once the hood is closed I’m fine with them.

This one is taller than most due to the carb set up. Chevy de-rates this crate engine by 40HP if you switch from this intake to an LS7 injection manifold. I want those 40 horses. I’m expecting 620HP and about 2400 pounds to be “just right”.

 

[Luke]

620hp for 2400lb I applaude your maths Sir.


Oh and I don't mind the look of LS engines either seen 1 in a chopped and channelled 28 coupe was running an injection setup that looked like an old hilborn mech injection set up. Looked cool enough for me

 

[sicndhed]

I suspect it’s in the upper percentile for FFR power to weight ratios but there are some FFRs out there with about three times my power. I wonder what Goldilocks would say about that.

620hp for 2400lb I applaude your maths Sir.


Oh and I don't mind the look of LS engines either seen 1 in a chopped and channelled 28 coupe was running an injection setup that looked like an old hilborn mech injection set up. Looked cool enough for me

I'd love to see the Model A, if you have a shot of it please share it.

 

[Luke]

Worlds most useless photographer here I go places do things then remember my phone takes pictures too lol. I guess it comes from a background where you would never take pics vid or record because that Sir can become evidence See what I can do for you but.

 

[Luke]

Had a look through the few photo's I have and of course I don't have any. ( always the way, can make you look like a tool at times) Had a look on the google to but no joy I found this 31 that's close. Imagine it with radir 5 slots a black lid and light blue from the door handle down. Hilborn style EFI limefire pipes a drilled visor and dragging its arse and you get the picture. it will undoubtedly show in a Aussie rod mag before long if/when it does I will give you a shout. There is a huge retro hot rod event on this week down the coast be surprised if it don't show there. here is the 31 imagine the mods

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[TommyK]

Started to mock up the engine in my FFR. Going to be tight with a carbed LS. As it sits it has about 4” of clearance to the oil pan. It would be nice to gain another ½” for a taller air filter but I think the pan would be making too many sparks.

Use a carb without a choke horn and a 1/2" shorter filter.

 

[sicndhed]

Started to mock up the engine in my FFR. Going to be tight with a carbed LS. As it sits it has about 4” of clearance to the oil pan. It would be nice to gain another ½” for a taller air filter but I think the pan would be making too many sparks.

Use a carb without a choke horn and a 1/2" shorter filter.

No horn carb is in the box but the problem is the Chevy drop base is so low that at 2 1/2" you just about hit the vent tube. IIRC even with a three inch element the Chevy gets restrictive at around 475 HP.

 

[TommyK]

Started to mock up the engine in my FFR. Going to be tight with a carbed LS. As it sits it has about 4” of clearance to the oil pan. It would be nice to gain another ½” for a taller air filter but I think the pan would be making too many sparks.

Use a carb without a choke horn and a 1/2" shorter filter.

No horn carb is in the box but the problem is the Chevy drop base is so low that at 2 1/2" you just about hit the vent tube. IIRC even with a three inch element the Chevy gets restrictive at around 475 HP.

I had the same issue when I put my 460 in while using the standard hood. You can get a plastic spacer which goes between the carb and the air cleaner base which you can trim to provide the minimum amount of air vent clearance. You could also make a custom vent tube by removing the existing tubes and making a one piece tube and cross drilling it to try and gain some room.

No question that a drop base/short filter is going to be a potential restriction but short of a hood scoop you gotta do what ya gotta do.

 

[sicndhed]

I figure I'll try it with the three inch element and get some G Tech data then try no filter and taller filter with the hood off. If the gains are big then some more effort will go into the filter assy or lower the engine and and use a 3 1/2" element. At this point I dont want to be too bogged down on something that might not be a real issue. I just finished relocating the uppper control arm mount. That was a real issue.

 

[c9zx]

You do know you will need to use anti-rejection additive in the tank at each fill up from now on. Be cautious when you get the car running. A good friend of mine, who is a very good competition driver, was in the hospital for 6 months because he lost control of his 575 HP (468 FE) FFR car on the 2-3 gear change. While Cobras are fun to drive and great to look at, the 90 inch wheel base and power to weight ratio makes them very unforgiving. Good luck on the build. Chuck

 

[sicndhed]

Anti-rejection drugs, heck that does sound easy. The way I tend to do things I might need a railroad tanker load. I have a friend who received a liver transplant. The AR drugs made him a little swollen. I wonder if a tankful in a Mustang would make the wheel wells flare out like a 427 Cobra? :s The problem is I’d have to keep giving the cars their medicine or they’d fall apart. If it’s like giving my cats their medicine…..

I know someone who is a very good auto crosser. His FFR has been pointed the wrong direction on a HWY. Cold tires play a big part (like a good sport bike) when you use good rubber. I won’t have much of a cold tire problem. The first set of tires is T/As. They never have much traction hot or cold. It might be a similar to my wife’s 6-71 car. Make sure it is pointed straight before going past 1/3 throttle.

Made some more progress on the FFR roadster last night. There was never a doubt that the car would have 15" pin drive (knock off) wheels. About the time I ordered the kit FFR created an in house spindle that corrects a lot of compromised steering geometry that occurs when using Mustang donor spindles. My sales rep said "no problem" to what I was planning to do. It turns out that the combination of their spindles and 15" pin drive wheels is one that FFR later said will not work. In order to get proper camber I had to make up an upper control arm that is about 2" shorter than the nominal one. The problem with that solution is that it does not leave adequate room for the coil overs. I cut off the factory upper control arm mount and notched the upright member so the upper control arms move inward two inches. Looks like everything now fits if I tilt the shock inward a bit and move it back on the LCA. I tacked in a temporary plate to check all the clearances. Once I mock up the other side I'll redo everything with proper braces. The tire/fender clearance still looks tight to me but compared to a lot of running cars I think I have more clearance than others who are on the road. I see a future with more of me up in the wheel wells using cut off wheels, yuck.

 

[Luke]

Looks good should be alright when you brace it out again. Do you guys have to get the chassis tech inspected during the build? Here in Aus you need to have the chassis inspected before painting so the tech can check out the welds and other mods. This specifically for hot rod chassis not sure about cobras

 

[sicndhed]

No review here. My kit is already titled. Once I put insurance on it I can pick up the plate. The whole paperwork process depends on the state you live in here in the US.

 

[sicndhed]

Got a set of “proper” tires. Looks like I’ll be moving the LCA mounting points inward about 1/2”. The way it is the tires hit the fender lips at about 1 ½ inches of compression with the wheels turned. The wheels are available with another .4” of backspacing but as it is the Wilwoods will be tight.

 

[sicndhed]

Looks like some shims and filing are in the future but I think the 12.18" brakes will work with the 15" wheels.

 

[Luke]

Looking Good in a Badass track smoking kind of way. That thing will be a blast and then some. Can you just move the whole mount inboard ? or are you going to notch and brace it all.


Scratch that last bit. I see how the Mounts are welded on the frame. What's inboard from there when you move mounts