4.6 being installed now

[RICH MUISE]

Al...thanks for the info. LOL..I'm glad I missed your post on maybe not being able to make the show. That was a nice show...I sure like the fairgrounds for a venue like that. I forgot to tell you yesterday, I had called Jon and he wasn't able to get away from the shop. I thought I had Rich K's card in my wallet, and didn't, so I didn't have a number to call.
On the mid pipes..I checked out the site and viewed some customer pics. I would think the only problem may be whether or not they would clear the '57 oem crossmember. If you have time to check it out, you could put a bolt in each side of the lower crossmember mounting holes on the frame and just stretch a string across. Not sure how close you'll be able to check anyways, unless you have the engine angled back at it's final (3*?) position. It looks like the pipes connect to the chamber rearward of the tailpiece on the tranny. I may have more of a problem with clearing the crossmember than you because I added that gusset on the bottom side.

[RICH MUISE]

Al..that exhaust link you gave me for macs actually is not macs, but a distributor. On the distributor site, I found this mid pipe arrangement from bbk that actually would work better for me, I think, as it would be more easily reworked to clear the crossmember. Since you already have yours, I'd keep checking to see if it will work. This will be on the backburner for me..got more things to take care of first.
http://www.americanmuscle.com/bbk-offroad-xpipe-9904gt.html?source=igodigital

[RICH MUISE]

Stupid question #659: do the mid pipes go over or under the tranny crossmember? It was so long ago I pulled the oem one out, I don't remember. I was thinking they went under, but just realized there is about 3 1/2 between the floor and the top of the crossmember....so there is enough room to go over, but will the heat factor be too much? I know there is a baffle attached to the floorboards in that area.

[Mark]

Over on mine.  Mark

[RICH MUISE]

Cool, thank you

[RICH MUISE]

Wow...almost a month since we posted on this thread. I've still been working mostly on the house, so not much to post about. I did work on engine compartment stuff I wanted to get done before the engine was installed. I did get the reworked tranny crossmember pulled back out, sandblasted, painted and reinstalled. I got my front brake line flex hose mounts moved to in front of the control arms to compensate for the Granada disc brake calipers. I got the frame touched up where I took the old ones off, and I got the hard lines made and installed as far as I can go without having the hydro-boost unit and proportioning valve installed. I got the emergency brake handle/cable rebuilt and installed all the way back to the tranny crossmember. I've been working on installing the throttle cable linkage from the Mark viii. I've got it mounted, including the cable, but only have about 1/2 the cable action that is built into the ass'y as the pedal arm is hitting the toeboard. I need to play with shimming the ass'y to see how much movement I can gain, but I may end up reshaping the pedal arm.
I also got the long nuts holding the upper control arm turned towards the outsides for exhaust manifold clearance. I got the exhaust manifolds sandblasted and painted with cast iron color header paint.
I think I'm ready for the engine. I'm going to intall it without the exhaust manifolds, so I can do the mods to the control arms later. Hopefully I can get the Mark viii stripped down and the engine in place on the '57. I've got to pull the '57 out of my garage, across the yard and into the driveway...which finally got concrete last year....so I only want to do this once.

[RICH MUISE]

Al...almost forgot...your probably past the point where my plastic engine mockup would do you any good, but my neice is headed up to the Springs next weekend if you want to borrow it.

[RICH MUISE]

I got the gas pedal figured out. I put 1/2" spacers under the mounting plate and got all but 1/8" of the full travel. I noticed some torquing of the plate with just the barrel spacers, so I'll make a full plate out of nylon I've got. I'm going to rework the crescent shaped pedal pad I made so I can move the floor mounted pedal up another inch or so towards the firewall.
Pics of the hinge I found that'll be perfect. there's enough space between the leafs for screws, the hinge actually has bearings so there's no slop like a normal gate hinge, it's real heavy duty, and was only about 8 bucks at Lowe's. I've got 1/8 heat shield under 3/8 carpet pad, so the 1/2" thickness of the hinge won't be a problem at all.
correction...there is slop in the hinge. I guess I wasn't tugging hard enough when I first checked. It lets the pedal move back and forth a little more than I'd like, so I'm going to play with it a bit to see what I can do to reduce the movement.

[RICH MUISE]

One more thing I got done, well almost, getting ready for the engine. I finished welding on the oil pan and am cleaning it up (soda blasting) for paint. It turns out the oil pan is a double wall affair with each wall being a pretty thin gauge, so welding wasn't as straight forward as I had hoped. I was getting an occasional blow back on the mig welding, I'm guessing because of the slight space in between the two walls, and of course I had to weld it on the inside as well as the outside. The good news was I figured this was really going to test my welding skills, and it ended up quite well I think. I had to grind out areas and reweld more than a few times, but I finally got it. I tested it by filling that corner of the pan with laquer thinner so I could check for pinholes without contaminating the welding area. Lots and lots of cleaning and using magnets to remove grinding dust and metal pieces from all the cutting, then flushing and high pressure blasts to get everything out. I por-15'd the inside reworked areas, and I'm soda blasting the outside for painting so I won't get sand trapped in it. Getting sand out of places like under the baffles is almost imposible to do 100%, and I didn't figure sand in my oil would be a good thing. The soda is water soluble...so a good flushing and it's gone.

[57dohc]

Rich;
Great progress as usual.  I am impressed with your fabrication skills which I am sure has been an inspiration to everyone on this forumn.
I want to thank you for offering to loan me your plastic engine block.  I won't be able to get back to any work on my car until December so it probably won't do me any good. 
I had hoped to get some work done this summer but it hasn't worked out.  Sue's chemo has had more of a cumulative effect than we had thought and she required (and deserved) more attention.  She completes treatment this thursday so it should up from here.  We will probably go up to Minnesota to our lake cabin for the balance of the summer and fall for a total break.
I will continue to check your progress as usual even though I can't add anything meaningful.  Again, thanks for your offer and keep up the good work.  Al

[RICH MUISE]

Al...sorry to hear Sue is having such a tough time with the chemo...from all the stories I've heard I guess unfortunatly that's the norm. Super glad it's over next week.
Send us some pics of fishing in Minn!!
The offer will still be open for the mock-up block when you get back.
Forgot to post a photo of where the Mark viii throttle cable exits the firewall. Just eyeballing, I think the location and cable length will be just fine

[RICH MUISE]

Managed to get a few hours in..got the pedal finished. I tightened up the hinge I was using, and now it works super smooth. I'm not going to move it, as it is functioning well as it is installed, but had I to do it over, I would have moved the Mark viii pedal to the right...see arrow in the pic. If I were not also trying to use the '63 pedal with it, it would have been fine. I didn't realize the floor mounted pedal is designed to lean to the right..for natural comfort I guess. The axii of the two pedals are not in line, so the swing pedal moves across the back of the floor pedal as it is depressed. As I said though, it is super smooth so I ain't gonna worry about it. I
I did have to rework my console a tad so the front edge wouldn't catch the sole of my shoe. The last pic shows the nylon pad I made. It's about 9/16 thick and puts the Mark viii pedal in the right position to get full cable movement just as the arm hit the floor. The hinge I used sits in a pocket where I cut out the thick underpadding and is just about level with the carpet, so that worked well also I think.
I'll explain the trashbarrel in another post.

[rlibew]

My install is now back on fast track, engine, trans rear end all in final time. Engine harness and computers in place as well as new auto wiring mounted and routed. Hydro boost in place and brake line being installed, the fuel tank is in but needs to be reworked for gauge  sending unit to work with auto meter gauges. All plumbing for intercooler and pump in place with moon eyes type tank fabricated, best of all, all fits with stock 57 aluminum radiator in stock location.

We are working on, or should I say Schraders is working on 3" exhaust from stock cobra exhaust manifolds to just over and past rear wheel opening with 3" 3 chamber flowmaster mufflers close to rear axle , looks great so far, hope it is not to loud with the 4.6 supercharge cobra.
With steering problems solved, firewall  reworded to except mustang peddles , four wheel disc install and being plumbed I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I hope to have it running and on the road by January, but interior and glass as well as a return to paint shop could and most likely will delay completion. I'm very excited with this project' should be a very nice 57 and stand out next to tri five Chevys.     

I still can not post pictures, I will send some to Rich   

[RICH MUISE]

You must have esp...I was just wondering yesterday about your build and how it was coming along. sending me those pics would be great...I'll get them posted for you. Your progress has gotta be exiting at the pace it's going.
Don't know how far Schradres has progressed on your exhaust, but a posibly helpful tip....check out places like Jegs for off road Mustang stuff. Thanks to Al, I found alot of mfgs. offering different components for the Mustangs that should help with our exhaust, at least to get it back to the tranny tail area.
Someday when I have time I'm further down the road with my install, I'm going to start another thread consolidating all the info that everyone has gotten together on this project.
Thanks for the input...and I'll look for those pics.
My memory sucks, rlibew, what tranny are you putting in?

[rlibew]

Rich I'm using the  6 speed  trans out of the 2003 cobra I bought the engine trans computer peddle assembly etc. My exhaust is in and believe It or not, I have 3" exhaust all the way to rear of car just behind the rear wheels. I had a gentleman that worked for Banks build the system form scratch 3" tubing and u bends. The system is run inside frame rails with 2 chamber 3" flowmaster at rear seat area and a 2" cross over pipe (H pipe) at rear of the trans. the cobra should preform well with flow this system will provide. With fuel lines brake lines and wiring being installed should be started soon. " I know where are the pictures"