FalkenXC's P51 Mustang build

[FalkenXC]

So is the shaker contacting the hood? Have you removed the shaker and tried closing the hood? If it closes are the balls that the shaker snaps onto completely lowered?

I have not tried closing the hood with the shaker removed, no. The balls however are completely lowered. It looks like the rubber seal is moving a lot to conform to the hood and I am concerned that it is preventing it from watching. I will try again with the shaker removed to latch the hood closed.

Suggesting it does latch, what do I do to allow the shaker to occupy the same space as the hood?

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[Grabber70Mach]

Not sure without some pics and verification of if it closes without it. I put the factory shaker and hood on mine but it's a 2V motor. I'd make sure there is no play in the attachment points/brackets that could possibly get it a little lower if needed.

 

[3175375]

Tarafied1, your kids are blessed having you as their Father. I hope they spoil you on your birthday, Father's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sometimes just working with them on a project is a blessing by itself. Based on their success, you raised them right. Hats off!

 

[kb3]

I am happy to take some pictures/measurements if you have any areas you would like to see....I have an 03 Mach in the garage right now. I don't think the rubber on the shaker pushes against the hood very hard on the stock car.

 

[FalkenXC]

I am happy to take some pictures/measurements if you have any areas you would like to see....I have an 03 Mach in the garage right now. I don't think the rubber on the shaker pushes against the hood very hard on the stock car.

Agreed, it doesn't seem like it should be the issue. The seal should touch anyway since that is what keeps water from the rest of the engine bay. It's just the only thing I can see.

Thanks for the offer to take some photos but I am not sure what I need a photo of.

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[tarafied1]

Tarafied1, your kids are blessed having you as their Father. I hope they spoil you on your birthday, Father's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sometimes just working with them on a project is a blessing by itself. Based on their success, you raised them right. Hats off!

Thanks. I have good kids. I am blessed!!!


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[tarafied1]

Son have you tried closing the hood without those tools in there?!? Lol.

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[FalkenXC]

Son have you tried closing the hood without those tools in there?!? Lol.

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D'oh! :Facepalm:

The obstruction in reality is about where the tools are laying in that screenshot of my Instagram for what it's worth. A little forward of the edge of the box, towards the front.

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[tarafied1]

If you pop that left headlight out can you see in there with the hood closed?


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[FalkenXC]

If you pop that left headlight out can you see in there with the hood closed?


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I'll be able to see through the support and potentially see the issue, yes. I'll try that too. Currently on campus all day haha

That does sound like a good idea, hopefully I'll have some luck and see something easy

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[tarafied1]

Yeah. Without the shaker scoop would be a good first check. If it closes and latches you know where to focus. Then you can try to see in there maybe.


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[tarafied1]

We were able to get the hood on today. It was the hood latch itself. The hood area for the latch was just enough thicker that the latch wouldn’t fit. I ground the “hook” opening bigger. It fit but turned out I ground off material on lower side and needed to take it off the upper. So I had to weld it back up and grind the upper side. Then we got it to latch but it wouldn’t unlatch. After intense effort to get the latch off with the hood closed we discovered I needed to contour the hook so that as it pivoted on the hood it wouldn’t bind. Anyway after a couple hours we got working!!!

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[FalkenXC]

I want to go into more detail about the moment the latch failed to unlatch the hood when the cable was pulled.

We had just gotten back from lunch out with all of the family. It was raining out and I had a birthday to attend so we were working pretty quick. We had grinding and welded the latch already and after a few tries, bam. Success! The hood closed.

After it latched, I looked at dad and high fived. We talked about our success and bragged about how people just don't understand what all goes into the small modifications. I took steps towards the car door and announced "now for the moment of Truth; unlatching the latch!"

I ripped on the cord and heard nothing. I didn't think it was broken or anything, just blank minded. I pulled the cord again. Nothing. I looked up through the windshield at dad and verbally said "hm. That's weird!"

The hood was stuck. Couldn't pull it up, couldn't unlatch it, nothing. Then the panic set it. How do I get to the engine? Do I have to destroy my new hood now? Break it open or even cut it open? What do I do now?

We discussed the problem briefly before I reached for a wrench. Time to try and figure out how to get the latch off. I reached through the grill and felt around for bolts. Nothing. Oh no, now it's really bad.

I turned my hand around and continued looking. I can't see a thing and it's all soaked from the rain while it was parked outside.

Wait! Was that it? I felt a seemingly round protrusion in the area of where I was expecting a bolt. The back of my fingers couldn't confirm if it was a hex bolt or not.

I stuck the wrench up there and wiggled it around until I felt it catch onto something. I looked up at dad and said "I'm not sure if this is the latch or not but I'm undoing it."

Two bolts later and the latch was undone. Thank goodness! Talk about spontaneous stress.

Hood looks great on there. Glad it's finally on!

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[tarafied1]

Yeah, that was a bit stressful. I assumed Ford would have designed it so you couldn’t unbolt the hood latch for theft purposes. Thankfully they didn’t. I had the same thoughts thinking we would have to destroy the hood or something to get it opened.
We both learned a little more about hood latch design though!


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[Horseplay]

I'm just about done with a new remote hood latch set-up I put together to eliminate the stock arrangement and this is my biggest fear. I've overlooked some detail and once I close the hood I won't be able to get it open. Thanks for adding a bit of reality to my nightmare!

 

[3175375]

We were able to get the hood on today. It was the hood latch itself. The hood area for the latch was just enough thicker that the latch wouldn’t fit. I ground the “hook” opening bigger. It fit but turned out I ground off material on lower side and needed to take it off the upper. So I had to weld it back up and grind the upper side. Then we got it to latch but it wouldn’t unlatch. After intense effort to get the latch off with the hood closed we discovered I needed to contour the hook so that as it pivoted on the hood it wouldn’t bind. Anyway after a couple hours we got working!!!

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Tool chests. Drool

 

[tarafied1]

Thanks for adding a bit of reality to my nightmare!

you are welcome

 

[FalkenXC]

To pick up where I left off some posts ago, but without pictures because I'm at work and bored (not to mention sick!).

Once I got my fog lights in that bumper, I got the bug. The car looked so cool in my teenage eyes. I had to modify it more.

Cue the onslaught of parts:
Cobra ducktail spoiler
Cobra rocker panels
Bullitt C pillar covers
Replacement OEM headlights (thank goodness, these helped so much)
Pypes Cobra catback for an IRS

All kinds of stuff. It's a lot, especially for a part time job!

The really cool thing, which my dad can add pictures of because he has them, was my restoration of 99 Cobra tail lights.

I had bought a set where the chrome in the back had blacked. They were pretty much ruined because of it, but I really really wanted a set.

Anyway, we had a plan. We stuck them in the oven and made an attempt to separate them. Mission failed! They wouldn't come apart.

So it was time to make a real decision. Leave it alone or go balls to the walls?

We broke out the Dremel.

Now I'm a little under the weather and might have poor detail retention, but this is all real.

We took the Dremel cut off wheel and cut the rare tail lights in half, removing the lens from the housing. Ruined them really. Then we did the same to my perfectly fine stock units which have mint chroming. Then we glued them back together. @tarafied1 can go into my detail, but I am honestly out of breath just typing this (damn you, Flu virus!)

The lights look mint now. Wouldn't ever know what had to be done. Not to mention all of the harness modifications to make the turn signals work!

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[tarafied1]

yeah, I forget what he paid for the tail lights but it was a lot in my mind so when he wanted to take them apart I was a bit nervous. Like he said we tried the internet method of baking them in the oven. It was supposed to loosen the factory glue. We tried increasingly high temperatures until we were afraid then lenses were going to melt. So as Lucas said I had the idea to use the dremel to cut the back of the Cobra lights and grind away the remains on the lenses to get to the surface we needed and then do the same to his original lights but on those I cut away the lens and ground down to the back which we wanted to keep. The original backing obviously didn't have the provision for the amber lights so we also had to cut out those into the backing to allow the bulb sockets to fit.

 

[tarafied1]

it looks to me like they stored the Cobra lights outside with no bulbs so the weather ate away the chrome plating on the plastic. But we were able to make a good set of Cobra lights from two sets of lights. We made a template of the socket shape and cut it into the original back. In the last picture you can see all the left over parts. One light was worse than the other but neither were as nice as the original. The end result turned out pretty good. Even though he paid a lot for the Cobra lights he did pay less than most on the net. We were able to save them and again a lot of work for some details most will never notice!