Donor Donates

Time for a much delayed update.

The donor car has given all she had to give. The engine, transmission and various brake and suspension components are out and resting in the shed. The fuel tank and shroud, spindles, emergency brake and complete pedal box have joined them. Since the donor only had a 7.5" rear-end I found an excellent 8.8" here in Ottawa with 3:27 gears and traction lock so that is good.

Some of the parts that could have been salvaged, I decided in the long run to let go. The mustang wiring loom is reusable but after looking at and realizing the amount of work that would go into removing all of the excess, shortening, rewrapping and putting it into place I decided to heck with it. The Cobra needs less than 12 circuits and there are many companies that make complete wiring kits for it for just a few hundred dollars, I also left the front lower control arms as they were basically un-removable given the corrosion creating climate conditions here in Eastern Ontario. Just to give an idea of the problem the rear end I purchased still had the lower control arms mounted and it took over 3 hours with hacksaws, hammers, heat and drift punches to get them off.

All in all however I got my investment out of the Mustang and the work moves on. Now I start the long tedious task of reconditioning all the parts that are stored away. To get started I just ordered up a batch of POR-15 rust paint along with the associated cleaners, degreasers and metal etchers. That should all arrive before the middle of the month.

I have started preparing the rear end for painting by de-scaling all the rust flakes. Nothing like a couple of hours with a hammer going tappa tappa tappa to make the elbows and arms sore not to mention driving all within earshot crazy.

I have attached a little video of the engine and transmission coming out. The whole thing sort of reminds me of the scene from "Alien" when the creature bursts out of the astronauts chest only I hope this time with a happier ending.