Project "Therapy Sessions" 1972 Maverick

How does the heater take in air if you block off the vents?

 

Hot rods don't need heat!

 

There are still holes on the sides of the cowl for heat as well as the fresh air vents.

 

Driving my Cobra this past summer I was thinking about all the heat coming from the headers down by my feet. I was thinking how handy it would come in during the winter months if I took it out. Well, yep, my feet stay fairly warm. But my friggin ears feel like they're gonna fall off!!! It's just a good thing I have the hardtop I can put on it. I'll wear something on my ears next time. It's a bit tough holding your hands over your ears and steering with your knee.

 

Now thats funny stuff right there.

 

My wife thought so too. She was warm at home!

 

Wise woman you got there, Ray

 

Ray my ex brother in law built a Factory Five Cobra a few years ago that I painted for him. He put heated seats in his car. That doesn't help his ears much, but he says it actually keeps him fairly comfortable in those cold Spring/Fall mornings and early evenings.

Sounds like you are really enjoying that car!

 

Very much so. And the weather is starting to get where I can drive it into work again soon. Probably in the next week or two. Got a show on Feb 2nd I'm getting ready for now.
I've actually got slide in door glasses I could use if I wanted to but I prefer to keep it opened up. I built me a little pulley system in my garage to store the top out of the way. I'm pretty sure it's going to stay up there for the next 8-9 months.

 

And that's when I ran out of gas.

This morning I went back out to the garage and started fitting the cowl top back in place.

Here is the inside of the cowl all painted.


I laid down some 3M seam sealer where needed then installed the cowl.


Here it is fully welded and I have painted the areas that will be hidden buy the end supports brackets.


I started to weld on the passenger side support.


Pretty smoky in there isn't it? I should have turned on the exhaust fan to clear it out little. But with the co$t of propane I would rather let it dissipate on it's own.


And that is when I ran out of gas, literally and figuratively. The welding gas bottle ran out. And so did my energy level. So I swept up my mess and called it a day. This week I will get a new bottle of gas and have at it next weekend.

Til next time.......


Glenn

 

I'm on the edge of my seat!!! Now I want to fill my cowl vents in

 

Then get off the seat and get out in the garage!

The hardest part of this was welding all the holes back up. 80 something if I remember correctly. Ford used decent sized spot welds, so the hole that needs to be filled is fairly large. Not my nicest work. But it will all grind down and be ok. But as you can see, if you get to it and work hard it can all be done in one weekend.

 

I just came in from the garage, I hate watching paint dry
I know what you mean, I've still got lots of grinding to do on my cowl....

 

test fitting the engine and trans combo.

This weekend I decided it was time to see how the engine and transmission fit in the car. I know this may sound pretty basic, but when I was given the car it was missing the original set up. Add to that the fact that this car had a six shooter and now I am adding a 302 and an AOD. I want to mock it all up, figure out what holes need to be drilled and where so that when I prime the car next time I can take care of any bare metal areas then.

So here is where I started the day:


I uncovered the engine for the first time in quite a while.


The freshly rebuilt AOD:


Sliding the assembly into the car. This was much easier without the radiator support in the way. When I do it for the final time after paint it will not be anywhere near as easy.


It took a little while to get everything bolted in place. Non stock engine and trans, front cross member and trans crossmember meant that a few curses were in order for a little while. But eventually it all went together.

I will have to clearance the floor support right here above the trans.


I only slid in two bolts for now, but it fits.


And for the first time I have an engine and trans in the car! This was huge for me. I was so happy.



Checking for header clearance on the passenger side. Looks good here.


And on the driver side. Looks good here as well.


They fit. Although it looks like an ear on the transmission will need to be trimmed back for the exhaust to mount up cleanly.



I clamped the radiator support in place to check that and mounted the radiator to see how that fit everything as well.




Also checked for clearance to the master cylinder mount. Is there really room here for a booster? Doesn't look like it to me? Only 4.5" from the center of the large hole in the firewall to the valve cover.


I had wanted to mount to the hood and check for clearance above the fuel injection. I will not be able to run the spacer I have as the hood hits. Even without the spacer the top of the injection is close to the hood, but it does fit.

Look at all that wiring!


Final shot of the day. And I can honestly say I am really torn as to whether I am keeping the injection or selling it all with the harness and getting a carb and intake for it. I know the injection has nice drivability and runs great. But there is such a mess of wiring and "stuff" that needs to be under the hood. I really like clean and simple, and I don;t get that with the injection. Very torn right now. And I really need to decide before I drill any holes for the wiring and associated hardware. Decisions, decisions..........




Glenn

 

Nice!
How about the steering rack, with the headers?
Keep the fuel injection!!
For a booster, you could try a Geo Metro one, they are nice and small.