12-28-09 Removing chassis aluminum

Didn't get this page updated yesterday, mostly because I didn't get much done with all the Christmas things going on. Got into a good groove today though. Still haven't gotten all the wiring removed but I shifted gears a bit and started on removing the chassis aluminum panels...getting it out of the way will make the rest of the disassembly that much easier, as you'll see.

I'll have to add another shot tomorrow to show you the amount of wiring that was shoehorned into the driver's footbox, coiled up as semi-neatly as can be done with the factory harness.

Removing the panels is a simple matter of drilling out about a bazillion 1/8" rivets, pausing periodically to curse as you break off a drill bit which will reside inside the frame tubing for eons. Then you have to get a thin putty knife to try to slice, pry, saw and/or hammer through the silicone that bonds the aluminum panels to the steel frame, all without bending the panel out of shape. It's trickier than it sounds, and it is hard to believe how strong a bond that stinky silicone goop can make. I think I'm starting to give The Old Man from 'A Christmas Story' a run for his money as far as finely crafted strings of profanity goes. Probably a good thing I didn't have company in the garage today. Had to pull the upper steering column to remove the firewall panel. Did I mention that there are about a gazillion rivets to drill through to remove each panel?

Removing the aluminum panels wouldn't be so bad except you have to drill through boatloads of rivets. Anyway, the frame is looking a lot more bare now. You can see the independent rear suspension (IRS) now that all the passenger and rear aluminum has been removed, which, by the way, required drilling out a whole lot of rivets, in case I didn't mention it. The rear differential will get yanked out and replaced with another unit I had rebuilt with 3.55 gears, for a little bit more neck-snappage off the line. It will help maximize my carbon footprint, what with the twin stripes of rubbery residue I'll be leaving on random unsuspecting paved areas in the region.

This FFR is a late Mark I or early Mark II chassis (I think). The original builder told me he added the 3/4" square tube transmission tunnel section since his frame did not come with one. You can see a slight bend in one of the diagonals. The tunnel he made is smaller than the Mk II and Mk III tunnel, which gives a smidgen more room in the cockpit area, so I'll probably stick with it. I will need to modify a couple of sections of tubing to accomodate the S-10 mid-shift tailhousing I'll be adding to the T-5Z. I won't have the drastic forward rake on the shifter that most Cobras have. Also you can see in this shot that the outboard square tubing (bottom of the photo) is 3/4" tubing, rather than the 2" tubing used on the newer cars. I'll probably have those replaced with the heavier bars, and possibly the verticle X-brace used in the Mk III kits. You can also see on the 2" upright where some of the POR15 paint lifted off.

An an overall shot just because, looking a lot more bare. Definitely planning to remove everything now and get the frame powdercoated. Color TBD.