2010 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet Drag Car Number 22 of 50 - Brand New

Walking the Cup Technique for Tig Welding

IT'S COILOVER TIME,YIPPIE !

THE PINION IS CENTERED ONTO THE FRAME,WHICH
REQUIRED SHORTING THE TUBES & AXLES

WHICH I WAS GONNA TO DO ANYWAY.

PANARD ROD NOT WELDED TO FRAME YET.

WAITING FOR RIDE HEIGHT CHECK.[YOU WANT THIS

AS PARALLEL AS POSSIBLE].

Well I finally getting to do something pretty and cool.It's the start of installing the rear coilovers.It's about time you say,?Hey,I'm an old man.I been sitting on a park bench,feeding pigeons and talking to myself. You have to get these on right or the car might not sit right or possibly it may cause handling concerns.

These  are a set of Carriera's with a 3000 lb. spring rate.I figure the car is gonna weigh around 2700 lbs,give or take,considering the FE  is heavier than a lot of other mills out there.So I figure I should be safe.The shocks have an adjustable setting for ride stiffness,which will be tackled when the Wop is complete.
Installing the shocks and springs are done with them sitting at a 20 degree angle. This is the proper angle and it should be taken as an important step when you start tacking up the upper shock brackets.

Speaking of tacking, I didn't put a strong enough tack on the driver's side upper bracket and started to seperate when I put some weight on it.I know what your thinking,it's a pain in the butt to cut and grind off welds if you make a mistake,but it better than it jumping up and hitting you when you might be in an incovienate position,right? So make sure to tack em' up good,to be safe,and they won't move around.One other note of value is to never have the the shocks holding the rear up by itself in the fully extended position bearing all the weight.It's a good way to ruin an expensive shock!!

Take a look and see what you think.I only put one half of the upper shock brackets on cause I have to do a little grinding on the other 2 to fit properly.

*****ANY COMMENT,GOOD OR BAD WELCOME ! *****

 SET @ 22 DEGREES FOR STREET.

YOU MIGHT WANT LESS FOR TRACK

USE,WHICH WOULD GIVE YOU LESS

HANDLING AND MORE TRACTION.

Thanks for lookin'



PINION IS CENTERED ON FRAME. SHOCKS ARE CENTERED ON PINION, NOT

THE HOUSING.



OVERHEAD SHOT WITH JUST ONE UPPER
BRACKET TACKED ON

Paisano

START OF THE 4 LINK SETUP

Well I started to mock up the 4 link system.I got this kit and welded all the connectors and adjusters myself to save a few bucks.If you can weld,you will be able to save a significant amount of "Moola"
Enough to eventually to buy a pack of "smokes"I don't know what cigarettes go for these days,just guessing.Really though if you buy enough weld it your self stuff you will save money to buy other parts.And at least you can brag that you did it all yourselft right?
The brackets to the rear housing are welded with the housing tilted back 4 degrees,and the brackets are 90 degrees to this mark and welded into place.In my case just a few tacks,to kep everything from moving.The other end of the links bars go on the frame about 28" drom the housing.I had a hard time trying to clamp everything up and  from getting in the way to be able to run a couple beads.
After that I started to put the 4link locator bar on the housing and leaving it unwelded till I get the ride height in order.
Anyhow, here's some flicks of the work.

Paisano

ZERO-ING IT IN AND GETTIN IT IN LINE.

Well here's the pinion angle setup.This has to be 1-3 degrees within the angle of the trans,in order to compensate for vibration and lubrication of the joint itself.As you can see by the pictures,its real close to the trans.The 4-link bars are going be be welded at minus 4 degrees from zero according to the instruction sheet.I got this magnetic degree -er and I think it does a great job knowing where your at, real quick.The needle job bounces and takes like what seems forever to stand still.If something gets bumped, you have to wait again.I don't have that kind of patience.and besides fora couple bucks more,its more accurate cause its in decimal readings which is a lot better than trying to read the other .Here's a flick of the trans degree  and everything is  lookin' like its in line before I get ready to tack it up.

Degrees on the Rear of C-6

Pinion Angle/ Jangle

String Running From Very Front Of Engine Main Bearing Center

Paisano

Trying To See Where The bars Are Go.DeffinitelyNeed to BE Higher On Frame

SPRING CLEAN-UP AND MAKING MORE ROOM. [ It's about time,eh ?]

Well after getting snow and ice yesterday I was ready to curse the weather guy.I'll get over it.Anyway this gave me the opportunity to do spring clean up and put all the parts,and everything else up on shelves and brackets.Went all the way around the garage with it.Looks good and it gets everything off the benches and and clean,for working.I would never have  known I had all this room till I cleaned it up and moved everything up on the walls. I didn't tell my wife what I did..She'll want to put her car in there.She must be crazy!Putting all the tools back in the box,so I can start over and go back to working the frame.At least I'll know where everything is for a while now.By doing all this I think I gained valuable space both on the benches and floor space.You would think that after being in the trade for so many years,I should have known better.Guess I'm getting lazy in my old age,or maybe an old dog and a new trick.Here are some pictures of the additional room I gained.
I promise to start back on the frame and talk that next time.I got the majority of the components I need to continue on with the frame building process[Been nickel & diming it for a long time & selling a few things on E-Bay now and then helps also].
Thanks for looking,
Paisano

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