| April 10, 2001 - On the recommendation of Greg LaPoint, I initially used a power steering pump and remote reservoir out of a Ford Escort. I have never been happy with this set-up. For one thing, it requires an extra hose that is difficult to route with any kind of elegance. For another, it requires the use of a remote reservoir that is difficult to place without interfering with the hood hinge mechanism. I purchased a rebuilt stock Mustang power steering pump and installed it. This is another example of how easy it is to outsmart yourself on this project. I should have simply used the stock donor Mustang pump in the first place! |
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| April 26, 2001 - The remaining aluminum panels were installed. The fender wells and nose aluminum panels were not difficult to install, but they did require a fair amount of trimming. I also installed the little grills for the brake-cooling openings, as well as grommets for the front quick jacks. |
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| April 28, 2001 - The stock Mustang gas pedal is cut and used in building the FFR-based car. This changes the pivot point, making the pedal very 'touchy.' While that is fine for 'spirited' driving, I decided to modify the set-up to make the pedal a little easier to deal with under normal driving conditions, in traffic, etc. (Note: This did help, but not enough. I'm gonna get a custom-made throttle pedal from Russ Thompson as soon as I can...) |
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| May 13-16, 2001 - This week I installed heat shield / sound deadener in the foot boxes and on the transmission tunnel. I also removed the rivets that attached the top of the transmission tunnel and installed nut-certs to allow for future R&R of the cover. Finally, I trimmed and glued-in the rest of the carpet. This step did a great deal to enhance the solid feel of the car when underway. Not to mention how good it feels for the car to look 'finished' from inside the cockpit! |
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| May 15, 2001 - The trunk are is now completely finished. I installed the prop mechanism from Finishline, and ran the wiring to the license plate light. |
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| June 2001 - The Cobra is not exactly known as a car built for comfort. Even so, I want to make improvements wherever practical to make it enjoyable to drive. With the 500-mile round trip to Columbus coming up, I decided to fabricate and install a 'dead pedal.' A dead pedal is essentially a foot rest for the driver's left foot. I highly recommend it. |
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| July 2001 - Long trips mean cell phone batteries can run down. I installed a cigarette lighter-type electrical plug into the passenger-side dash support brace. Now I can plug my cell phone charger into it and keep the battery charged! |
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| August 2001 - I saw a picture of a Cobra with this sticker on the dash, so I had to have one. |
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November,
2001 - Installed 'AC' pedals from
Finishline. This
project required me to cut the steel pedal pads off the pedal arms.
To do this, I removed the clutch pedal and tried to get the brake pedal
off too. After several hours of (rather painful) effort, I gave up
on getting the brake pedal out and went to 'Plan B.' Plan B involved
grinding the brake pedal pad off the arm with it IN the car. Many thanks to Greg Morgan, owner of CNC Industries Company, where they cut the grooves, drilled the holes, and polished the AC pedal pads for me. It was also Greg's idea to use the stepped screws to allow the pads to pivot slightly without crimping or cracking the aluminum. While I was at it, I added a 'stop' to the clutch pedal arm to reduce the throw. |
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| Now that I did the clutch and brake, I guess I'll have to follow through and upgrade the throttle and dead pedal too! |
| December, 2001 - Merry Christmas to me!! My wife, Jill, emailed Russ Thompson and ordered one of his cool custom FFR throttle pedals and one of his aluminum shroud covers! Sons Benn and Dave gave me a leather steering wheel cover too! |
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