My Little Girl is All Grown Up

[ggunter]

I finished my car over this past weekend and I don't want to boast but I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. The last post I had on here the body was just shot with Ford Ruby Red. I shot the stripes on over last weekend and recleared all of it. I spent the last four days reassembling the body an all attaching parts and buffing the car and sanding out a couple of dirt nibs I had and overall it is beautiful in the sunlight. It does have the over riders onit now. Little girl is all grown up.


152887152888

[ggunter]

It took me a year and 5 days to complete and I had a great time building the chassis. The paint and body work, even though it came out great, I would not do that part again. My hats off to the Jeff's and anybody else who does that for a living. That part of the build took me longer to do then the entire chassis build, mainly because I don't do it enough to get quick at it. I also found a lot of insite from other builders on the forum on how to's and where to get specialty parts. I should have researched more on the car before I bought it for specialty items which made the car better. I found out about the forward firewall too late but thats the only thing i would have changed. I do have a heater in box I will sell for half price. If anyone is interested please PM me.

[CaptB]

Nice work man.

[rtbellah]

She's a beauty! Great work...I can only hope mine looks as good when I'm done. Now the fun really begins - you get to drive her!

[RJD]

Nailed it!

[Mark K]

Great job! Car looks beautiful!

[Ray from Long Island]

Beautiful job :) Congratulations! Enjoy the ride

[toadster]

very nice! but do you want us all drooling over your grown up little girl? :rolleyes: ;)

[JohnK]

very nice! but do you want us all drooling over your grown up little girl? :rolleyes: ;)

Yeah, that's not creepy or anything... :eek:

[Jeff Kleiner]

She is all grown up and looks beautiful! Great job :cool:

Jeff

[Papa]

Wow! That color is perfect on these cars. Fantastic work and a beautiful car to be proud of.

Dave

[Straversi]

Congrats, she's gorgeous! She deserves more than a couple of photos.
-Steve

[bil1024]

Great job!

[Blitzboy54]

Just beautiful. Need more pics sir

[hineas]

Absolutely stunning!!!

[wallace18]

Super Job!:cool:

[KDubU]

Stunning! Congrats on a beauty.

[frankb]

Really nice work!

[ggunter]

Here's a few more pics, sorry about the small size. Unless I take a screen shot they come out sideways.152916152917152918152919

[ggunter]

Just want to say thanks for all the kind words. I came home form work yesterday and just sat in a chair in my garage and stared at the car, and said to myself I own a Cobra. That was a long time coming. It made me happy. And by the way Toadster, if you drool on my little girl it's ok, she's a little on the trashy side.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Here's a few more pics, sorry about the small size....

Let me help---Your girl deserves big photos!

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=152916&d=1630500747

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=152917&d=1630500779

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=152918&d=1630500799

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=152919&d=1630500820

Cheers,
Jeff

[ggunter]

Thanks Jeff, and I appreciate your help with my body and paint questions along the way.

[WIS89]

GG-

She turned out beautifully! Quick build, professional, and sharp; I know you must feel proud!

Thanks for the pictures, and the updates along the way. You did a really fine job! Now, what she got under the hood?

Maybe a graduation post with a few more pics. She's too beautiful to keep hidden!!

Well done, and enjoy the hell out of her!!

Regards,

Steve

[toadster]

Just want to say thanks for all the kind words. I came home form work yesterday and just sat in a chair in my garage and stared at the car, and said to myself I own a Cobra. That was a long time coming. It made me happy. And by the way Toadster, if you drool on my little girl it's ok, she's a little on the trashy side.


haha - enjoy with pride, she looks great! take more pics!!!

[ggunter]

I am off tomorrow so the wife and I are going to take a cruise up into southern Pa. Amish country, and spend the day cruising the back roads of Pa.I only live four miles from Pa and they have wonderful cruising roads. I will pull her out of the garage early and take some early morning shots with the sun just exploding that paint and post some more pics of the car and the motor. Again thanks for all the kind words.

[mgk172]

Looks awesome! The weathers is perfect today for a country cruise - enjoy!!

[ggunter]

Good morning all, took the car out for a shake down cruise with the wife, put 150 miles on it and went uneventful till I pulled on to my buddy's street and mashed it through 1st and 2nd gear. Pulled into his driveway and had no power steering. Opened the hood and found the power steering pulley walked almost off. This happend once during gokart times under the same circumstance when I mashed on it but I though they never pressed the pulley on all the way. So at that time I pressed it on the rest of the way and haven't had an issue till now. At his house we tapped the pulley onand as easy as it went on I know the press fit is not there. Called BPE they siad the accessories are made by March. So I am waiting for a call from them. Other than that the car is smooth, runs great, and I couldn't be happier. Here are a few more pics.153124153125153126153127

[ggunter]

I hate sideways pics153128

[J R Jones]

g, you do not mention a retaining nut which is SOP. A straight shaft press is 0.0005 to 0.001. A taper shaft press with a nut is more appropriate. You should not be hammering the pulley on and pressing a pump assembly is not good either, therefore the requirement for a nut.
The only band-aid is green loctite retaining compound, but that is a leap of faith if the dimensions are not right.
Your mention of BPE suggests an engineered system, not a mix of parts. There is no inappropriate restriction in the pressure side of the system?
jim

[Jeff Kleiner]

That is an OEM Ford pump. They have a press fit pulley which by design does not a use retaining bolt. Literally millions of them have been running like that for the past 40 years. Problem is the March pulley and it’s inside diameter.

Jeff

[J R Jones]

If BPE is buying aftermarket pulleys, I suspect that they are buying aftermarket pumps. (the blister packs look that way) It would be hard to make a profit on reselling OEM pumps. Typical mark-up for OEM price is 5X manufacturing cost.
So if it is not Ford quality control (six sigma) all the dimensions should be questioned.
jim

[ggunter]

As Jeff said it is only a straight shaft press fit to the shaft and I do have and use the tool for pressing and removing the pulley. And as easy as the pulley tapped on it wouldn't have done anything to the pump. The set up is what BPE uses from March for accessory drives. I ordered a new pulley from March and I'll press it on when it gets here, hopefully it will be a lot tighter.

[J R Jones]

g, I am a little sensitive on accountability these days. I am building SS headers for an LS3 Bluepoint engine going into a C5 Corvette. I have almost $2000 in parts from Summit.
The collector boxes were drop shipped from the part supplier, who gets them from China. They look great but part number CLS 200-300 was not the 2.0 primaries and 3.0 collector I selected, it was 3.5 collectors.
I got to customer service sent them back and received another set of 2.0 / 3.5!! I contacted the drop shipping supplier and he said "CLS 200-300 IS a 3.5 collector, Summit lists it incorrectly". WT?
Your problem and mine is accountability. The seller does not verify what he sells, you and I are quality control.

I would measure the original and replacement parts, if they are from China, all the inventory could be the same.

BTW I went through exactly the same thing with a power steering cooler for my Lexus/Mercedes street rod about a year ago. After three leakers, (I could blow through the bad welds and even see light through one) I demanded they test the next unit before they ship it to me. They did not have a good unit in the entire inventory.
jim
.

[J R Jones]

g, Being curious and analytical, I looked into March. Odd to see manufacturing in Naples FL. I see the March is an aluminum pulley and it may not be a Ford pump. At best this simple press-fit is not a high performance design, maybe Falcon or Galaxy.

Here is a power steering experience to consider. I was asked to get a hot lap from a high end sports sedan at an autocross. I was motivated to get results.
By turn three the power steering went away and I had to muscle through ~15 turns to the end. Then the steering went back to normal. We did not find a cause and chalked it up to inadequate pump pressure, or an overpressure relief valve. There was no belt squeal.
Your circumstance was high RPM, not viscous steering. I predict autocross would challenge your power steering.

Yours is not the high volume, successful Ford design. It is reverse engineered for aesthetics. Ford used a steel pulley. The physical characteristics of aluminum are not equal to steel. The hoop strength is less and thermal expansion rate is more than steel.
Did March do the engineering or just copy the Ford design? An attempt at steel equivalency would be a longer thicker hub and more press interference.
jim

[Jeff Kleiner]

...I predict autocross would challenge your power steering...



I don't know where BP sources their pumps (remanufactured perhaps) but it looks identical to the 1989 vintage Mustang GT pump on my car. My actual, real life experience with that is that it's seen somewhere around 600 autocross runs and a bunch of track days and has never failed to deliver.


..I was asked to get a hot lap from a high end sports sedan at an autocross...By turn three the power steering went away...

Similar experience---When instructing I often drive students' cars and while doing so I found that one of Bavaria's finest as well as Subaru's WRX were not able to keep up and I could get ahead of the assist.

OK, thread hijack over!

Jeff

[ggunter]

I agree Jim. I spoke with March this morning and they are sending a new pulley and some spacers for the mount. I asked if they changed the inner diameter of the pulley to increase the press fit and he said no. So We will see how this goes. I think I should use some stud and bearing mount LockTite when installing the pulley.

[JohnK]

Just a word of caution on retaining compounds... on my roadster build I installed the spherical bearing inserts instead of urethane bushings on the control arms. Once the bolts where tightened down, a few of the spherical bearing shells were rotating in the control arms, which is not where the rotation is supposed to be happening. After discussing with FFR, I decided to try installing the bearing shells with a retaining compound to secure them to the frame so that the control arms would pivot on the bearings as intended, rather than the shells rotating.

The first retaining compound I tried was "Permatex High Temperature Sleeve Retainer" (small blue tube in photo). I managed to get the sleeve about half way in before it locked up SOLID. It took a propane torch and a BFH before I was able to remove it. The second attempt was with Loctite 641 retaining compound. This went together smoothly and still locked the bearing shells in place. It's listed as medium-strength so, while I haven't tried removing any of the bearing shells I think (hope) that they would come out easier if that was ever needed.

Long story short - choose your retaining compound wisely.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=153177&d=1631122269

[J R Jones]

G, JohnK, Stud and bearing compound is just that, and does not have the shear strength of retaining compound. My experience has only been with Loctite 680 green which has 4 min fixture time, 24 hr cure and 4000 psi shear strength.
https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/us/en/product/retaining-compounds/loctite_680.html

Actually I understood that retaining compound is not serviceable. Get it right or seppuku.

OTOH g, if the next pulley has a lot of interference and you are concerned about subsequent press damage, you could heat the pulley hub to make it grow, and then push it on.

BTW my comment on autocross was not about pumping performance, but that the pulley/pump load will be high, challenging the pulley to pump interface.
BTW vintage Mustang power steering pumps were designed to work with worm/sector steering, not rack and pinion. Given the options available these days, I would make sure the performance specifications are compatible.
My contemporary Corvette and Lexus R&P systems have large reservoir volume and cooling features.
jim

[JohnK]

Actually I understood that retaining compound is not serviceable. Get it right or seppuku.


With the benefit of hindsight, clearly the Permatex high temp sleeve retainer was not meant to be serviceable. :eek: For a few moments, I was convinced I was going to be purchasing a new lower control arm.

[J R Jones]

I don't know where BP sources their pumps (remanufactured perhaps) but it looks identical to the 1989 vintage Mustang GT pump on my car. My actual, real life experience with that is that it's seen somewhere around 600 autocross runs and a bunch of track days and has never failed to deliver.



Similar experience---When instructing I often drive students' cars and while doing so I found that one of Bavaria's finest as well as Subaru's WRX were not able to keep up and I could get ahead of the assist.

OK, thread hijack over!

Jeff

Jeff,
Ahh, being vintage myself, I misread your post as 1969 Mustang, not 1989. What I identify with perhaps.
Yes Fox Mustangs and M-II/Pinto before them were R&P steering.
My wife had a 1976 Mustang II Cobra II with the "competition" suspension. I liked it to a degree, and realized that it handled better than my 1974 Corvette.
My Father bought a 1979 Fox Mustang and asked us to drive him out east for a family visit. I found that the McPherson strut suspension was a step backwards. My Dad was OK with it.
Sorry for the error.
jim

[ggunter]

When the new pulley gets here I will be able pretty quickly whether there is any improvement on the press fit.

[ggunter]

If the aluminum thermal expansion rate is whats causing it to walk off the shaft then I will change over to a steel pulley and say good bye to pretty and hello to fuctional.

[J R Jones]

g, we can assume that your experience is not universal, or March would be getting complaints and service adjustments. That puts a hole in profits.
As a performance car vs trailer queen, it is good that you had a discussion with them about functionality. Eventually you should share your experience with the company that sold the package.
March parts appear to be billet machined, and their equipment looks like CAD CAM, so consistency it to be expected.
It may be hard to believe but retaining compound will actually work with a bit of clearance between parts. Of course not all loads are the same, and there are limits.
I think that you are going to be OK, and plan "B" is a good one.

BTW I like your aircraft. We were at EAA this year and after the heritage flight ([2] F-16, P-38, P-51) the USAF got carried away and laid down a Mach I pass that almost knocked us over.
The Navy brought out F-22s that impressed, but I am sure they were forewarned about speed.
jim

[ggunter]

JR, that YAK is a sweet flying bird and I also have a 330sc Extra of that size as well that I fly 3D with as well as about 18 other planes of diferent scale and type. I have enjoyed some for of aviation all my life starting with a Quicksilver Ultra light back in the 70's to flying full scale with my friends and now large RC planes. It's a different outlook on the world.

[J R Jones]

g, Very interesting. One could say you had drone talent before there were drones, but you were all analoge. You build them too? Remarkable skill.
I was USAF with interceptors all over the world and still get a chill with a whiff of JP4. We were snipers at 75K ft and mach 2.
More recently I have tried soaring, and two years ago we saw drone "Air Cross" competition(?) at the Reno Air Races. My eyes cannot follow them at those speeds, another young man's sport.
jim

[ggunter]

I can't take credit for building all of the plane. These planes come form China (surprise) and they are called ARF's or Almost Ready To Fly. The plane comes built and covered in the colors shown but need all the mechanicals installed, engine, servos, batteries, power board, reciever, and fuel system and then need to have the big parts assembled at the field, put the wings on. This one has a purpose built twin cylinder 170cc two stroke with 17 hp and swings a 30" prop. Cost is around $5500.00 all in. You can go crazy and put a 5 or 7 seven cylinder radial four stroke engine which sounds amazing for another
3-4k. Like any other hobby it will accept any amount of money you want to throw at it. At one tim not too long ago I was up to 30 planes but have since sold off most of the ones I didn't fly that much and am down to 12 now.

[J R Jones]

G, I Googled the models you posted and watched videos of each. Now with your information on engine options, I understand what I saw. The power was not proportional, They take-off, climb and speed way faster than full sized aircraft.
BTW the EAA aerobatic program included a mono wing and bi-plane with JATO. The performance and sound was incredible.
"You can go crazy" yeah, that may be understated, Most persons, my wife included, are tolerant, but do not appreciate the thrill.
jim

[phileas_fogg]

My Dad used to build RC airplanes, but little ones (<48" wing span). He always had at least three: one he'd just crashed, one or more in repair, and one flyable. All started life as sheets of various thickness balsa & paper templates. "Don't fly 'em if you don't wanna crash 'em!"


John

[ggunter]

Like everyone I started out with high wing trainers and soon became bored with their limited performance. Then you graduate to sport planes. A little more capable and racy looking but still limited to their aerobatic capabilities. Then you move to 3D flying which is where I am now, when you ask the plane to do aerobatic manuvers a full size could never do. This is where it gets fun and expensive when you make a mistake. Thankfully computor simulators for RC flying came along and made it easy to practice and perfect flying something wild on the simulator long before you hit the field with your expensive plane.