Carlos -another newbie to this forum

[Carlos]

First of all thanks a lot Grumpy, for creating this forum.

I think you discovered one of our major problems with the internet...we are pushig, sharing and storing many many informations out there, and all of sudden "somebody" takes down the site and destroys lots of information... and passion. We all went through this and had our frustrations.
Even more I am motivated to use this forum now as THE platform to seek for and share information around chevy stuff.
Grumpy mentione asked me to post some pictures, I'll do so, hope he doesn't regret...


Now to the intro...
Back in 2000 my wife and I bought a Cobra kit car with a ZZ3 engine aaaaannnnnd .... 48mm Webbers on top of it.
Since then every winter, I am honest ask my wife , I was working on some improvements.
Too many to be mentioned from the top of my head, but they have one thing in common...I always finished the work just a few hours before (or "slightly" after...) the hot rod season began in spring.

One major milestone, and I have to mention this, was the first tuning of the engine, where I got completely stuck with severe detonation.
These were the days I was asking for help in the chevytalk forum and thanks god... grumpy stepped in.
He did some mystic voodoo maths (I guess) and came up with a recommendation for a cam, which turned out as working perfectly well after being installed.
Since then the engine is just running very well, smoothly idling@ 600RPM and pulling up to 6.000RPM.
We experienced 40.000mls of fun in the Cobra since then, visiting many countires and making new friends.

I'll try to find and upload some pictures on major projects I did.

I understand this is not a Cobra forum, but maybe some thoughts / ideas are of interest for you as well.

have fun folks

Carlos

***************
here is a first draft of my activities and projects. Latest news on top.
I will add pictures over time.
As you can see my favourite task ist to take out engine and trans , and ...yes I stil like the automatic trans.

Any comments and questions welcome

Winter 2009-2010
Replacement of my beloved Webber IDFs by TWMinduction and Megasquirt EFI
Building new headers from scratch

Season 2009
absolutely troublefree :lol:

Winter 2008-2009
Wiring harness ripped out completely, rebuilt a new one based on painless harness #
Installed a Megasquirt MSII just for ignition control, prepped for EFI.

Sept 2008
Twice the headlights went of for a second during a night drive…not a good sign

August 2008
installed a 2nd trans cooler with fan and temp gauge to monitor trans oil temp
1st one is in front of the water radiator, second one horizontally flat underneath the nose.

July 2008
received a new 200R4 plus custom made converter and installed it
added transmission additive to reduce friction and improve temp. capabilities
again free of charge, full warranty by Greg @ phoenixtransmissions

June 2008
engine and trans taken out
200R4 overheating on autobahn all gears dead
(tiny crack in valve plate caused overheating)

April 2008
swapped rear end differential to steeper ratio 3.31

March 2007
200R4 transmission received and installed
warranty repait, free of charge great service

Jan 2007
trans shipped to phoenixtransmissions
trans and engine taken out

May 2007
200R4 overdrive blown away on autobahn (my fault
1st to 3rd still working well, decided to go with 3 gears for the rest of the season

April 2007
Linkage built, for 200R4 and Webbers
New transmission 200R4 by http://www.phoenixtrans.com/

March 2007
Completely rebuilt my Webber Carbs

Feb 2007
differential swapped , making noise

April 2006
designed new knock offs (custom made from high grade steel to fit Jaguar axles)

January 2006
TH350 Transmission leaked (engine and trans taken out to seal trans)
New wheels “Vintagewheels”

August 2005
car assembled, back from paint shop

Jan to March 2005
car disassembled, sanded and prepped for paint job

April 2004
new pedals, brake master cylinder and brake booster

Dec 2003
new rear end with power lock 3.07

Sept. 2003
refurbished front axle
6 caliper brakes added
August
engine and transmission in
fixed (warranty by speed shop)
engine and transmission out,
TH350 trans mission blown (main shaft broken) after engine was dynoed and broken in. @ first WOT on Autobahn

July 2003
new cam (the magic grumpy one) :lol: and dyno test
two ;o) new fuelpumps (Webbers were sucked empty at WOT after a few seconds)
steering rack replaced

April 25th 2003
engine and trans installed

April 21st 2003
engine and trans removed to change cam

March 2003
modified exhaust
installed adjustable timing control MSD

Feb 2003
installed
engine received from engine shop
new brackets and oil lube circulation for generator
Searched for for alternator with integrated vacuum pump for brake booster
Lack of vacuum due to Webbers

Jan 2003
rear end refurbished entirely
emergency main power switch added
New fat power cables to battery and starter

November 2002
engine rebuilt
head job (ported valve angles guides), bore and hone, new pistons, bearings, lifters, pushrods, OLD ZZ3 CAM (big mistake)

August 2001
engine and new trans TH350 sport installed
wiper motor replaced

July 2001
engine and trans out, TH400 removed

March 2001
new headers (new-headers.jpg)
brake-balancer installed (brake-balancer.jpg)
new differential and rear end bearings .jpg

Jan 2000
new exhaust with hedman block hugger headers
intake manifold sealed
new rear brakes with steelflex hoses
steering rack replaced
new radiator installed

Dec 2000
rear end refurbished 3.07
new MSD6 AL ignition
pushrods@rear end refurbished
parts of space frame chassis replaced
fiberglass floor of trunk cut out and replaced

Feb 2000
replaced by steelflex stuff
brake lines started to “sweat” (( slightly

Birthday of our Cobra (the month we bought the old lady)

 

[grumpyvette]

IM sure a high percentage of even the (CHEVY) die hard, hot rod, crowd would just love to own a clean cobra like you've built!

congratulations on building a really impressive car!

I know I would love to stick an aluminum BIG BLOCK CHEVY with about 477 cubic inches,with a nice set of webers, or a stack style MPFI system,and a 5 speed manual transmission in a cobra

 

[Carlos]

IM sure a high percentage of even the (CHEVY) die hard, hot rod, crowd would just love to own a clean cobra like you've built! congratulations on building a really impressive car!

Thanks !

As we all know...it is quite a long way to go. Especially if the pre owner didn't care about the body ..(See below)

 

[Carlos]

Knock offs !?

After receiving the new Vintage wheels with adapters for Jaguar hubs I discovered two problems / threats...
Firstly, the threaded nuts cracked at 1/5th of the required torque
Secondly, the adapters had been milled beyond a critical limit, to match the JAG hubs
So? DIY !
Ingredients: 3D CAD, high grade steel, lots of time and good friends with access to machine shops.
C.

 

[Carlos]

New wiring harness

Just in case some of you are also running an old car with the old harness, and some gizmos seem to work as circuit brakers, cutting off lights at night, interrupting the ignition for a tenth of a sec...
Then its time to rip out all the the old cabling...

I bolted all devices to an aluminum plate which went under the dash. Painless shipped a very nice harness. Excellent documentation btw.

 

[Carlos]

Low vacuum for brake booster ?

Running Webbers is great fun, but might cause grief by real low vacuum, too less for a brake booster support.
What to do ? Electrical pumps is one way, there is another as well.
Take an alternator of a diesel engine with integrated vacuum pump. (diesels are suffering the same problem), and hook up the oil circuit to the engines circuit. Intake from oil pressure switch with adapter, outlet of oil back through fuel pump port (if you don't use a mechanical one).
Thats how it look like.

 

[Carlos]

Carb Linkage for Webbers and automatic transmission

A 200R4 from phoenixtransmissions is delivered nice and clean, however...the Weber carbs are nor prepared to handle this.
So some mods are required.

 

[Carlos]

Leaking distributor due to machined manifold

After taking off the Webber's manifold for the first time (remember I bought the car very very used ), I discovered the flange was sealed by lots of silicone...
Having a closer look showed, that the manifold had been machined incorrectly, so the flange of the distributor was far off angle.
Quickly made a ring on the lathe, then using the file as I had learned ages ago...nice fit, no more leaks.
btw the (MSD) distributor has an adjustable collar.
C.

 

[Carlos]

Refurbishing Webbers

Refurbishing Webbers is a nice job for winter times...
First clean em in an ultrasonic bath, then dry carefully with compressed air, finally take them to the living room and start to disassemble....
I received the blessing of my wife for using the living room, as she's a gearhead as well. So maybe you should check with your wife first..

 

[Carlos]

TWM induction quality !

Some shots of my new TWM
excellent engineering work.
Look at the linkage or fuel rails

 

[Carlos]

Jaguar XJ IRS refurbished

The JAG rearend is very robust, but needs maintenance, whic his a lot of work.
So when it's taken out, take the opportunity and fix brakes, parking brake, seals and bearings of lower wishbones

Front end was worn out as well.

 

[Carlos]

Brake balance off ?

If brake balance front / rear is off, most folks use a Tilton kind of valve to limit one brake circuit's pressure.
Alternatiely I used a brake balancer, bolted on a regular booster.

 

[Carlos]

Hedman shorties

Due to space ristrictions I had built this set of headers years ago. Not excellent for performance, but fitting in the space frame chassis.
Winter 2009-2010 I'll build new headers from scratch.

 

[Carlos]

Street Car on 1/4 mile

As all of us, I wanted to see my car on the dragstrip, at least at once.
I went to an international Corvette meeting, where several Vipers and oth muscle cars were present.
Long story short....1 place 11.999s, street trim. (with tools in the trunk ;o)

 

[grumpyvette]

very impressive!
both the car and the quality of the machine work youve done to get it running correctly!
Im always far more impressed with guys who have cars built not from a group of pre selected, bolt together components, but rather those guys that take the effort to think things thru about what they want or need and have a true custom car built, those hubs ,custom brakes, etc. and the use of the jag rear in the cobra are a good example, having installed weber carbs or stack MPFI is another very impressive addition to the car both in looks and no doubt in performance

 

[enigma57]

Job well done, Carlos! I love Webers. Just finished helping a friend who ran IDA (EMPI) clones at the EMC contest.

I am working up an intake for my small block Chevy to mount Weber 42 DCNF carbs. If I might ask...... What are your engine specs and what choke (venturi) size, jetting, air correctors and emulsion tubes worked best for you with this engine when running the IDFs?

Also, the 120mm center to center distance between throttle bores of the IDA type intake you have with the fuel injection throttle bodies now...... Does it flow well with the wider offset from the 90mm throttle bore centers of your previous IDF intake?

Thanks,

Harry

 

[Carlos]

Hello Harry

Job well done, Carlos! I love Webers. Just finished helping a friend who ran IDA (EMPI) clones at the EMC contest.
I am working up an intake for my small block Chevy to mount Weber 42 DCNF carbs. If I might ask...... What are your engine specs and what choke (venturi) size, jetting, air correctors and emulsion tubes worked best for you with this engine when running the IDFs?

I posted my specs in my headers post, which you can find here:
http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=2537

my 48 IDF setup:
Chocke 36mm (to force low end torque)
main jet 135
air correction 150
idle 57
emulsion tube F15 (F11 was too rich @ lower RPMs)

Also, the 120mm center to center distance between throttle bores of the IDA type intake you have with the fuel injection throttle bodies now...... Does it flow well with the wider offset from the 90mm throttle bore centers of your previous IDF intake?

I don't know yet by facts, but a first look shows the flow shall be equal if not better, as the IDA intake is much higher as the IDF style intake. This height basically caused a lot of grief, as I had to lower the engine, thus I ahave to build new headers etc. etc.

btw...I did all the finetuning on the road by using Lambda gauges.
As you are in the US, I am unlikelely to make business on that with you (my wife is Innovate Motorsports reseller over here) , but you definitely should have a look on this equipment. (I used the LC-1s with DB gauges)
http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/products/MTS.php

I felt the dyno is OK for WOT tuning, but acceleration and partially open throttle is far better to be tuned on the road.

regards

C.

 

[enigma57]

Many thanks, Carlos! Is this the final jetting after installing the ported heads and Crower cam? It is very close to the factory jetting for the Weber 42 DCNF carbs I have which are original to a 1974 Series III 325 cu. in. Aston Martin V-8 engine......

Choke - 36mm
aux. venturi - 4.5
main jet - 135
air correction - 180
idle (slow running) jet - 55
idle (slow running) air bleed - 110
accelerator pump jet - 45
emulsion tube - F33

With my friend's IDA carbs, the idle (slow running) air bleed is the orifice in the top of the idle jet holder. His carbs came with F2 emulsion tubes and a generic 120 size idle jet holder orifice. We went down to 100 for the idle jet air bleed (soldered and redrilled, new ones were beyond the budget) along with 60 idles and that helped. Do you recall what the idle air bleed size is for your 48 IDFs?

With emulsion tubes for his IDA carbs, he went through F-2s, F-11s and F-7s before I got involved. I had him drill the extra holes up high to bring his F-7s to F-8 spec. That helped, but the fuel curve was still off. With time running short for the EMC competition, I suggested F-16s. Still a bit rich at lower revs and partway through the transition phase until the engine was running on the mains and air correctors at high RPMs, but good enough to place 3rd in the competition against the newer engines (Dan ran a '56 Chrysler 354 hemi engine bored to 365 cu. in.). F-15s and then F-14s were next on my list to try, but we ran out of time and just did the best we could with what we had to work with.

Dan's early hemi......

I visited the other thread here and you have done a great job with your SBC powered Cobra. Well done, Carlos!

For the Weber setup on my Chevy engine, I will make my own intake manifold and the carbs will be Weber 42 DCNFs that I have here and will rebuild......

At present, I am planning on building an intake for them that will mount them similarly to the 42 DCNFs on this Ferrari 308......

This will position each carb directly above the 4 sets of paired intake ports and the carbs will have a straight shot down the intake ports below them.

Yes, I will be sure to investigate the Innovate Motor Sports Lambda gauges. Is it possible to have the one gauge along with sensors on each header primary tube so as to be able to read each individually and perhaps a switch to change the reading to the gauge to show #1, #2, #3 cylinder reading, etc.? (I'd love to simply have 8 gauges, but that's way beyond my means.)

I have been considering building a setup for my garage having 8 manometers which would connect by small diameter hose to small hose barbs drilled and tapped into each intake port runner to balance and sync the carbs. But that cannot be employed on the road for fine tuning with the car in motion, of course.

A very Merry Christmas to you and to your family!

Best regards,

Harry

 

[Carlos]

finally the TWM is set up and running, controlled by a Megasquirt EFI.

 

[grumpyvette]

your cobra , and its engine just keeps looking better as you've constantly improved it

180.56 km in the 1/4 mile converts to about 113 mph