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FFR 5519 - LK Motorsports Rebuild and Jeff "Batman" Miller paint

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35K views 91 replies 21 participants last post by  mefarri  
#1 · (Edited)
In a few hours, I am towing the Cobra down to Langley at LKMotorsports in Hermosa Beach for a few upgrades, replacing the Bilsteins, and a few repairs of what the original owner had hacked apart. Jeff "Batman" Miller is going to pick up the body Friday or Saturday to take back to the batcave and do the body/paint. Its been fun talking to Jeff about all the crazy ideas I have had for paint. He has kept my grounded with my strange ideas. BTW, anyone else notice its hard to pick colors when every single color on earth is available to you?????

Unless Jeff is willing to take and send me pictures of the body in progress, I might not get any pictures. But, Langleys shop is near my work, so I will be stopping in from time to time and snapping progress pics.

Here's how she looked a few days ago. Change is in the wind.......

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1994 302 with over 100,000 miles
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Trunk, where the battery slides around, and you gotta love the prop-rod!!
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Cockpit with tons of extra silicone. Most gauges don't function properly.
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#6 ·
Well, the fun has begun. Unearthing all the problems the original builder added to the project.

So, the body is off. Batman is picking up today. Give you an idea what we're painting.
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Once off, we started noticing the problems. Like not riveting in the sheet, no silicone, and well, all that wiring MUST GO!!

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Going to change over the rear to coilovers.

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#7 ·
Lots of loose panels, nothing sealed/siliconed around firewall. The MF'er even ran the gas line UNDER the frame!! There are also a few spots where he grinded out parts of the frame. Next to passenger door, and on the right front spring mount. Sheesh.

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Lastly, gonna leave the motor alone for the most part. I want a 427W someday anyway, so why put any extra $$ into it. Although we are ixing the leaky Main seal, and the carberutor thats leaking on the manifold.

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So, I have a list of about 100 things we are going to do. Looks like it will be done by Christmas-ish time.

Oh, and LK's '33 Larry is coming along nice!! You'll see it at SEMA.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Here's the To Do List:

* new hood (old hood latches were mounted wrong and unrepairable)
* new PBR 2-piston front brakes and single piston rear brakes - new Emergency Brake
* install 7" standard Brake booster * new S95 master cylinder
* FFMetal Battery Drop-down box with Optima Red-Top with Marine grade 2AWG wiring
* FFR Radiator, stainless hoses, new electric fan * Summit overflow tank * New shroud around radiator
* Painless Thermo switch * Hella horn
* new MSD distributor, MSD 6AL-2 ignition box, coils and new spark wires(black) * new Autolite spark plugs
* eliminate clutch and neutral starter safety switch
* Roush air cleaner and valve covers
* FFR lower tubular A-Arms * FFR Bumpsteer Kit
* replacing stock Mustang rear suspension with tubular control arms and Koni coilovers
* replacing front Bilsteins with Koni Coilovers
* Finishline engine louvres, grommets, Sunvisors and windwings, and clear front signals
* redo of the dash, still original look though(signed by Jack Roush and Carroll Shelby)
* Finish interior with Mercedes wool carpet * FFR Logo floor mats
* Orange piping sewn into Cobra seats and carpet seams - pockets sewn into transmission tunnel
* install Cobraheat.com Seat Heaters - custom switches under dash
* install new speedometer cable
* 4cyl. power steering pump to replace 8cyl. version
* AC pedals * Fix pedals and footbox
* Clutch quadrant adjuster
* Cobra shift knob * FFR Steering Wheel Badge
* Powdercoat Quick Jacks and all other metal Flat Black
* Batman's invisible hinges * custom fabricated trunk prop rod
* Cobraheat.com seatheaters
* complete re-wire of car - all wiring wrapped in sleeving
* new T5 "Z" transmission
* powdercoat rims flat black(not spinners)
* replace worn clutch * new fuel pump
* Marcus Motorsports 1.5" equal length flat black headers
* new Demon Speed 575 4V carb with mechanical secondaries



Lastly, of course, Batman paint. So, basically, fixing everything but the motor. Gotta leave something to do later.

Pics to come as I get them.
 
#15 ·
02roush said:
* 4cyl. power steering pump to replace 8cyl. version
Click to expand...
roush,

I don't think the actual pumps are any different, but I do know the 4 cyl and V6 Mustangs use a different size pulley on the PS pump.

I had the same PS pump you currently have and removed the pulley to swap it with one from a 3.8l T-bird (don't remember the vintage, but I think it was late 80's, maybe early 90's?), and it was almost 5/8" larger which gives you something like a 12% underdrive effect (to the PS only).

It looks like you have 94-95 front dress on that engine. This can be quite limiting when it comes to finding accessory components (pulleys, brackets etc.). I don't think you have any plan to replace these right away, but it is one more thing to be aware of as you go through your planned upgrades.

Sean
 
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#10 · (Edited)
More of the teardown. Rear end is out. Gonna clean it up. Already has 3.73s, which is good. Koni's to come also.(edit)
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Speaking of, some parts we no longer need.
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Plenty of room to get at headers. Also, the transmission is 100K T5 that is on its last leg. Falls out of gear, misses gear, etc. I also have a bad rear main leak.
Lang just happened to have a brand new Z T5, so that got added to the list.
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Lastly, a little peek into LK Motorsports. Cobra on left, Larry in middle, and GTM on right. More on the Larry elsewhere....
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#13 · (Edited)
Clemson, Im sure something got lost in my translation. I will edit it.

But from what I remember, the Koni's get mounted upside down and don't clear the caliper, so the brakes need flipped to the opposite side of rotor. Gotta pull the c-clip to pull the axles.

Hope that makes sense.

EFNFAST, yes, the gas line went under the main cross-tube in the back. As far as I could tell, it was the lowest part of the car.
 
#16 ·
The interior and wiring are all pulled. Ready for Mercedes carpet and re-wiring.
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Couple more things to replace. Going to replace clutch while motor is out.
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Almost back to square one. Amazing how quick Alister and Lang have ripped this apart. (batman is in the backgoround btw, helping get the body ready for the Larry)
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Got to talk with Batman, here's what the paint will look like.


 
P
#18 ·
02Roush,

Would you please tell Lang to stop dragging his feet and taking long breaks and get your Cobra out of there asap so mine can come in? :001_tongue: Just kidding.

I can't wait to see yours finished and transformed.

Philip
 
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#20 ·
pdari, I would love to get it done quicker, but some guy named Larry is holding it up.....
http://www.ffcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198208

And Eddie, I definetly want to see your car and meet. I wish I had all Fridays off, I only get there once awhile. But I definetly wanna do something when its completed. I didn;t get much respnse, but a place in Burbank offered to host a Cobra GTG. I wanna try to get something done.

Anyways, parts are arriving. Radiator, clutch quadrant, Battery box, lower rear arms. Found out the front tubular A-arms and Konis are on backorder. So pdari, Larry might not be the onyl thing slowing it down.

But, they did get the Hellas mounted. :devil2:

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#21 ·
With SEMA over, Lang and Alister have been back at it in the Cobra. Went over today and found all this done. These guys do amazing stuff.

First, dropped in FFR Metal battery box.
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Also, new Lower Control arms. Koni's are on the way(fronts are backorderd though)
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Motor is back in car. New T5 installed also.
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#22 ·
Start of the Bumpsteer kit.
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Changed over the V8 power-steering pump to a smaller 4 cyl. unit.
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The darn Roush valve covers were off by a half-bolt hole, so Alister made this small bracket to move the alternator over and clear. 2" longer belt and all is well.
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Pedals are hung. Can't wait to smash the lil' one on the right!!!
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#23 · (Edited)
Engine re-installed. Roush valve covers and Marcus Motorsports 1.5" equal length headers also installed.
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Lastly, Alister did a lot of fabricating for the power booster. Used a 7" booster, custom brackets, etc. Great fitment also.
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So, last thing I gotta know........



Any word from the Batcave???
 
#24 · (Edited)
At the 2010 Mustang reveal in Santa Monica, I got Jack Roush to sign the dash.
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I tried to get Carroll to sign it but he wouldn't. I am going to drop it off at the Shelby Foundation on Friday though to get it done.
I did get him to sign my copy of Mustang(along with Roush, Saleen, Force, Jones, etc.)
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Last, I got the Cobras plates. Since I have no plan to install the front plate, I hung it up in the garage.
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I also had to order a new hood today. Batman is doing the body, and the previous builder mounted the latches in the wrong location. Instead of trying to repair it(through two layers of fiberglass), I just ordered another one. Which of course means the crappy one will become a nice garage decoration!!!
 
#25 ·
I'm curious why he wouldn't sign it. He seems to have done it many, many times for others. Why not? Do you need to donate to his foundation first?
 
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#26 ·
Yeah, Carroll only signs car parts for donations now. 250.00 and up(Jerome Ito, the Program Manager for the Shelby Foundation signatures, said he normally charges 500-1000 for dash or hood!!). I ended up getting it signed for only 250 though!! And on top of that, there is normally a 6-8 week turnaround. I took it there Friday, and got it Tuesday. I owe Jerome BIG TIME!! I am trying to find a worthy thank you to send him.

But, I was real close to not getting it signed at all. LK called me Monday morning and said he needed the dash. I told him it was at Shelby. I called Jerome and he said it would be two weeks at least before I could get it back. I told him I would have to pick it up now, and hopefully get it signed at a later date. When I went to get it, the front secretary asked why it wasn't signed. I explained why, she said "Hold on, Carroll will be here today." She then called the Jerome, who again said two weeks. Oh well. Another time, right?
As I was leaving, Jerome caught me in the parking lot(whew!!) and said leave it one more day, he would see what he can do. I guess I wasn't supposed to know Carroll was going to be there that day, and there were other obligations, but he might be able to get it done. I would pick it up today signed or unsigned.

Of course, Jerome got it done in the end!! I think it looks awesome.

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#27 ·
Also, Alister has been busy on the Cobra. First, the Main Seal wasn't the leaky culprit, it was the oil pan gasket. Here the original builder had cut it, and used half cork/half rubber gasket!! It was leaking right between the two gaskets. Argggggh.

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New FFR radiator installed. Overheating issues should be a problem no longer. :w00t:
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#29 ·
The battery is wired and dropped into the FFMetal box. Used Marine grade 2AWG for both. Cable was like 7.50 a foot!!

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Ran along trans tunnel to starter. Fuse panel also mounted. And pedals hung.

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Lastly, still awaiting the front Konis. But the rears should be on by Friday.

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