Fmans Dart 427 build #9818 - 14" Leather steering wheel

[Blitzboy54]

Looks super sharp.

[toadster]

awesome setup! how's the light output? any nightime shots?

also, with the CA inspection, did you have to do a backup light?

[Blitzboy54]

awesome setup! how's the light output? any nightime shots?

also, with the CA inspection, did you have to do a backup light?

I have backup lights. I am mocking them up now. I should have an update in my thread next week.

[Fman]

awesome setup! how's the light output? any nightime shots?

also, with the CA inspection, did you have to do a backup light?

Todd, no night time shots yet, light output seems decent. Hopefully I will be able to test them out soon.

When I had my light and brake inspection done he did not even ask about a reverse light or wipers which I did not have. I think it is hit and miss depending on where you take your car for the inspection. The guy I went to is definitely where you want to go

[Fman]

I have about 400 miles on the car now, fine tuning some items. One item I have been disappointed with is the fresh air vent system, basically it has been like adding a heater. It was blowing hot air in the cockpit when engine is at full temperature. The 3" tubing I used was RV sewage line with no insulation and I was a little concerned about what would happen if one ever came off the hose clamp and hit the exhaust, it would have been a mess and possibly caught fire. So I ended up finding some 3" insulated hose, flame proof and will do a much better job of not getting as hot. I also was not happy with how the front of the intake hose was looking on the front of the car under the mesh screen.

Here is the 3" hose I changed out, RV on left and new insulated hose on right, it is doing a much better job of cutting down on the heat sending cooler air to the footbox area. When I say cooler air it is by no means "cold" air, but it does supply some tolerable airflow on a warmer day which helps keep the boys cool.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1




Here is a shot of what the front attachment looked like, kind of ghetto so I wanted to clean it up.



I found this flexible coupling in the plumbing section of home depot to clean up the front grill attachment.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Fernco-3...6-32/100372295



Attached to the grille, it fits good and cleans everything up.



Also helps capture some more cool air when car is driving and cleans up the lip on the 3" tubing.

[toadster]

looks good Travis! Have you checked out these front vent options? yea, $40 but would capture more air IMHO - your setup may be pulling in some hot air in the space in the fenderwell

https://prdcrrct.com/product/nose-vent-adapter-kit/
https://www.**********accessories.co...ent-ducts.aspx

[Fman]

looks good Travis! Have you checked out these front vent options? yea, $40 but would capture more air IMHO - your setup may be pulling in some hot air in the space in the fenderwell

https://prdcrrct.com/product/nose-vent-adapter-kit/
https://www.**********accessories.co...ent-ducts.aspx

Bingo! Nice find... That would definitely be a better option than my HD option. After measuring it looks like it should fit around the mesh screen, think I will order a pair up....

Thanks for the link...

[GTBradley]

That insulated hose is a good idea. I like the way mine work while moving and fan off, but at a light with the fan on it’s little improvement over no air at all. It’s surprising the air can heat up in that little time near the headers.

[Fman]

That insulated hose is a good idea. I like the way mine work while moving and fan off, but at a light with the fan on it’s little improvement over no air at all. It’s surprising the air can heat up in that little time near the headers.

I am glad you responded was wondering what the "norm" was others were experiencing for a fresh air system. The insulated hose has helped but the air is still not what I was hoping for. There is just so much heat in that engine compartment the hose is actually hot to the touch. I did just order two front plastic scoops Toadster recommended, will have to see if these are going to help pull more cool air in. I almost feel like the section of hose in the engine compartment above the headers with the intense heat needs to be somehow more insulated or maybe double wrapped with the insulated hose?

[GTBradley]

Those brake duct adapters work well and the vent system is worth it while moving, but I’ve been thinking the same thing about insulating in the area of the headers. I guess the air movement through the engine bay at speed is why they work better moving rather than with the fan at a stop light. There is also the possibility of header wrap on the headers.

Edit: after researching this it looks like the wrap is questionable for long term use, but ceramic coating the headers looks pretty good at reducing engine bay heat.

[JohnK]

Hey Travis. I'm just getting caught up on your thread, and your car is absolutely stunning! Congratulations - you must be over the moon with how it turned out. You absolutely killed it.

[Fman]

Hey Travis. I'm just getting caught up on your thread, and your car is absolutely stunning! Congratulations - you must be over the moon with how it turned out. You absolutely killed it.

Thank you John, appreciate the kind words.... nothing compared to what you are putting together but overall I am pleased with how it all came together. It is an amazing car to drive, just clicked over 500 miles on it today.

[Fman]

Picked up indoor satin cover to help with dust control which has been working great. Will not scratch paint and easy to take off and put on, also works with dual roll bars.

carcovers.com

[Blitzboy54]

Picked up indoor satin cover to help with dust control, easy to install and so far it has been working great. Will not scratch paint and easy to take on and put on, also works with dual roll bars.

carcovers.com

Perfect! I will need something like this. Thinking even on days I take it into work I would want to keep the sun off of it.

[Fman]

Perfect! I will need something like this. Thinking even on days I take it into work I would want to keep the sun off of it.

I went with this one for outdoor use, will definitely hold up better in the sun. I believe that satin cover is strictly for indoor use only.
https://www.carcoverworld.com/coverc...by-cobra-cover

[Fman]

I wanted to add one extra brake light on #9818 to possibly help avoid a rear end collision, I went with 8" plasma rod. They are used on Harley Davidson bikes often are very thin and throw a lot of light out and use literally no power. Ideally was looking to mount it between the drivers seat on the upper cockpit area. Unfortunately I could not find a way to mount the light without it taking away from the vintage look of the car. My second choice was going under the trunk in the center. Even though it is low to the ground having one extra brake light is better than two. It was easy to tie into the existing brake light setup and I am hopeful this extra brake light will add a little more defense against a rear end hit. The light is almost unnoticeable when it is not powered up, I was able to tuck it in tight under the body with a piece of .040 aluminum that is mounted to the plastic fuel tank cover.

Here is where I picked up the Plasma Rod: Custom Dynamics 8", they run about $79.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/30236862308...EAAOSwLsBZVu9q

[JB in NOVA]

Very nice! Just noticed your custom license plate holder, too. So cool!

[Blitzboy54]

Very nice! Just noticed your custom license plate holder, too. So cool!

Same, where did you get that made? That is super awesome. I was thinking of doing a vanity plate that said “#10008” but your setup is so much better.

[Fman]

I had the license plate frame made by these guys, they do a nice job and you can select from a wide variety of fonts, materials, colors, etc. Mine is the CNC black machined aluminum.

https://bestlicenseplateframes.com/custom/

[Fman]

Up to 650 miles now on the Roadster, had my first moment of something is not right... was leaving a local car show that evening and realized my engine was not running right. Seemed like it was on 7 cylinders. I was able to limp 9818 home and discovered a couple things when I got home. I ran a diagnostic on the PF4 EFI and turns out my #6 injector was not working, turned out to be an easy fix because the connection had somehow popped off. Then looked down at spark plug boot #5 and discovered it had melted against the header shorting out. Must have somehow come off. I ended up replacing it with a 90 degree boot and now there is more clearance, has been good for last 100 miles. Basically I was running on 6 cylinders so happy I was able to make it home and avoid my first flat tow.

Other than this mishap knock on wood the car continues to run good, I did a 500 mile shake down, oil change and double checked all bolts and everything looked good from the underside on the lift. Every time I turn the key on to this car it puts a smile on my face, could not be more happy with engine choice to this point. I can drive it like a grandma or hit the insanity button. Elliott Franklin my engine builder really set the motor up perfect for what I was hoping for. I am starting to debunk the myth of a 427 with 500+ HP in these cars are not driveable, definitely not the experience I am having.

Hope everyone is out enjoying there roadsters

Toasted spark plug boot...

[460.465USMC]

Glad to hear your first issue was minor, and you were able to quickly solve it! Keep racking up those miles...I'm only a little jealous.

[egchewy79]

I got some heat resistant boots to put over my spark plug connections to prevent melting from the headers

[Fman]

I got some heat resistant boots to put over my spark plug connections to prevent melting from the headers

I think I might be heading down that road, for a winter project I might be pulling my headers and having them ceramic coated. Wish I would have thought of that when they were off the car during my build. If you are in build mode right now would highly recommend looking into sending your headers off to Jet Hot, they claim 50% reduction in heat which would be well worth it if that is truly the results.

[Blitzboy54]

Oh man, will keep this in mind when routing my stuff. Thanks for the update

[toadster]

I think I might be heading down that road, for a winter project I might be pulling my headers and having them ceramic coated. Wish I would have thought of that when they were off the car during my build. If you are in build mode right now would highly recommend looking into sending your headers off to Jet Coat, they claim 50% reduction in heat which would be well worth it if that is truly the results.

once again Travis - spending my money!!!
I'm contacting JetHot

Impressive video!

[Fman]

once again Travis - spending my money!!!
I'm contacting JetHot

Impressive video!

Great video Todd, thanks for sharing... I might even do this next month. Once the summer heat hits the car will be sitting until fall weather kicks in... I just contacted them today looks like $363 for 21" or less header length, $400 for 21"-30" header length. This includes shipping back, probably will be $50-$60 to ship them out to there facility. They said 15 day turn around and lifetime guarantee.

One question maybe someone can answer is does all this heat get sent down to the side pipes, it has to go somewhere... that might not be a good thing having glowing side pipes.

[JohnK]

Purely a guess on my part but I would imagine that the exhaust gas passing through the side pipes will be a bit hotter if some of that heat doesn't dissipate through the headers. However, I seriously doubt that the side pipes will get hot enough to glow. The other way to look at it is that the side pipes already get hot enough to burn someone with or without ceramic coating on the headers, so adding heat shields on the side pipes may not be a bad idea for safety.

[FLPBFoot]

The 4 into 4 headers I received from FFR were already ceramic coated. I was VERY surprised at how cool they run. I did go and get the side pipes and heat shields on the outside of the side exhaust ceramic coated by Jet Hot. They do great work and my stainless side exhaust was a bear to keep clean. Compound 303 is wonderful but I was cleaning them every couple of weeks.

[Fman]

The 4 into 4 headers I received from FFR were already ceramic coated. I was VERY surprised at how cool they run. I did go and get the side pipes and heat shields on the outside of the side exhaust ceramic coated by Jet Hot. They do great work and my stainless side exhaust was a bear to keep clean. Compound 303 is wonderful but I was cleaning them every couple of weeks.

I have FFR headers for the 351W, looks like mine have no ceramic coating.

http://www.factoryfiveparts.com/16793-351-headers/

[toadster]

yeah, the Coyote headers I have are ~26" in length so H2M-1300P-Mid Length 21-30" 2 Piece Header-Polish will be $408 with free return shipping

yes, it's pricey - but everyone I know says it truly removes heat from the engine bay, which also means cooler footboxes

[BB767]

Hey Travis.

Funny, I had exactly the same experience as you at about the same mileage. My plug wire looked exactly like yours. I put these on it and no more issues since.

https://www.holley.com/products/igni...es/parts/9056C

[Fman]

I'm going to have to do some more research I had no plans to ceramic coat my gas n pipes, imo the cermic coat does not look even close to a polished pipe. Would like to find someone who has ceramic coated only the headers and not the side pipes. Heat has to go somewhere, not sure if sending 60% more heat towards the gas 'n pipes is ideal. Maybe this would not be the case but I am sure the side pipes would definitely be running hotter.

If I end up doing this want to make sure I do not create another issue.

[Fman]

Hey Travis.

Funny, I had exactly the same experience as you at about the same mileage. My plug wire looked exactly like yours. I put these on it and no more issues since.

https://www.holley.com/products/igni...es/parts/9056C

Thanks Brien I'll put these on my save list. Just ordered some 1900 degree protector boots to go around the boots. I've got about 150 miles on car since the meltdown replacement, fingers crossed they all hold up.

[FLPBFoot]

I'm going to have to do some more research I had no plans to ceramic coat my gas n pipes, imo the cermic coat does not look even close to a polished pipe. Would like to find someone who has ceramic coated only the headers and not the side pipes. Heat has to go somewhere, not sure if sending 60% more heat towards the gas 'n pipes is ideal. Maybe this would not be the case but I am sure the side pipes would definitely be running hotter.

If I end up doing this want to make sure I do not create another issue.

True the ceramic is not as shiny as stainless but Jet Hot does have what they call Classic Polish that IMO looks really good. The great thing is it never discolors. Here are mine with classic polish on the pipes as well as the heat shields.

IMG_7537.jpg

[Fman]

With warmer weather here footbox and cockpit heat becomes more of a topic and issue. When I first started driving I had a lot of heat in my footbox coming in through the gaps between the doors and body it felt like a heater blowing on me. I was able to stuff 2" foam in the gaps and have drastically reduced the heat down to a tolerable acceptable level which is great. However, I want to make it even better. So I started to brainstorm and thought how could I cut down engine compartment heat more to help with footbox and cockpit heat. Airflow is always a big help when reducing heat, so I ordered up a couple 4" bilge blowers and mounted them aiming directly at the side vents. They are 270 CFM per blower and only draw 6 amps each. I painted them black so they are not really noticeable and tucked in under the fender area. These are working very good, they blow a lot of hot air out of the engine compartment through the side vents and suck cooler air in under the car. I had an extra toggle switch on my vintage bezel so install was pretty easy. Another bonus was they are not that loud with the engine running you can barely hear them.

Picked them up on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just a couple stainless bolts mounted to the backside of the elephant ears, easy install.

Passenger side



Drivers side

[Vspeeds]

I like your third brake light. Much sleeker than mine.

[Fman]

I like your third brake light. Much sleeker than mine.

Thanks Eddie looking back if I knew I was going to mount under the trunk area I would have gone with the 12" for even more light output.

[Fman]

If you are considering adding the 4" bilge bowers for the engine compartment I gathered some data from a drive today. It was a beautiful day today for a drive in the Cobra, 75 and breezy.... 'bout perfect! A gift for June, hit 103 last week for a day or two... looks like it is heating up next week.

I gathered some data using my PF4 tablet. The PF4 air temp sensor is located inside the air filter.

Outside air temp 75 degrees

Driving (45 mph) air engine compartment temp read 104 degrees, 4" blowers had no affect on dropping engine air temp while car was moving at 45 mph.
Hottest idling engine compartment air temp read 151 with 189 degree engine temperature.
4" blowers dropped temp when idling from 151 to 136 in less than a minute.

4" blowers dropped engine compartment air temp 15 degrees at idle. I assume this would also be similar results in stop and go traffic.

I feel like 15 degrees is worth it for less than a $50 investment. This number could even be higher on a warmer day. I will try the same test on a warmer day and report back.

[dlud]

Good idea. I might adopt that for my GTM. More to cool the engine compartment than the cockpit. I wonder about wiring it into the radiator fan control.

[Fman]

#9818 made it out to Auburn cruise night in the Sacramento area. Some sweet Cobra's out there! We caravaned over together had some lunch and a nice evening talking shop and meeting some new faces. GREAT event, over 400 cars, FREE entry and everything is pre-1972. If you live in the Sacramento area make sure and try and make this one. Every second friday of each month (April-Sept), starts at 5pm. Definitely will have a great evening!