When I received my body, the gelcoat was in excellent shape. But as I began to work on it, I learned although the body looked good, the edges were horrendous. The glass cloth had separated, or wasn’t filled, there were all kinds of voids. No where near ready for final body work. I chose to correct these. Period Correct I wanted the car to appear as an aluminum car. We have all seen persons come up to a car and put their hand under the edge of the fender well, trying to feel if it is fiberglass or aluminum. I wanted to pass this test.Read More →

Corner Weight – Vehicle BalanceAs you study wheel alignment and vehicle handling, you pick up real quick, the value of proper corner weight. But how do you set that? I’ve found four different ways, that vary from expensive to DIY at home. What the big guys useIf you’re a well funded NASCAR team or a serious track racer, you probably have a LongAcre computer scale set in your set-up trailer. We all can wish. Longacre Racing Bathroom scalesAn enterprising Tuner figured out a way to use bathroom scales in conjunction with a platform. Using levers, he improvised a less expensive way to determine the cornerRead More →

Driveshaft Man, it sure is short ! (how many times have you heard that?) One of the benefits of using an independent rear suspension is you don’t get any third member movement. I can’t imagine the arc one of these driveshaft’s move thru when a live axle moves thru its normal range. I am fortunate to live only a few miles from a very good driveshaft firm. A quick jaunt with my axle flange and transmission yoke and I was in business. One of the beauties of the HMS design is the “X” frame that mounts under the transmission. Easy to drop and remove componentsRead More →

Spent the last month fighting alignment and bumpsteer problems. I won! On Aug 4th, the total bump steer totaled almost 1″. Now it is less than .040″ Just about the time I was doing my rough alignment, the article in Kit Builder magazine by Dean Lampe regarding bump steer appeared. I should have adhered to the old premise, “ignorance is bliss”. There are many Hurricane kits being successfully driven and no complaints on the owners site. Many happy campers, huh. I studied how bumpsteer is measured and the affects it has on a vehicle. I then measured my kit, as assembled, and found it to beRead More →

Huge Milestone Day. Fired motor for the first time. SSWWEEEETT! She fired right up and ran like a champ. 45 year old carburetors still do what they are supposed to. Big Block FE – 431″ – TriPower – Hyd. Roller Cam/Roller Rockers – all the goodies. Gotta Love the sound of a Big Block Throttle: posted pictures of finished mechanical throttle linkage Glovebox: details on the glovebox build  Read More →

Speedometer Cable One of the items that must be purchased locally is the speedometer cable. It isn’t detailed anywhere that depending on the transmission you use, you may also need a speedometer reverser. The speedometer registers counter-clockwise but the output from most transmissions is clockwise. I also learned of a tip to install the speedo cable thru the cowl support tubes, to keep it hidden. I purchased a Mustang cable from a local parts store, it adapted to my TKO600 without a hitch, but was too long. A query to one of the forums I use and I learned the cable could easily be shortened.Read More →

Wires…Wires…Wires  man, this is tedious. I think I’m making progress. Added link to Gateway Cobra ClubRead More →

Pieces are beginning to come together. Installed cooling system and hydraulic reservoir system Hydraulic ReservoirsThe original S/C cars came with Girling hydraulics, which incorporated  remote reservoirs, mounted on the engine compartment wall. The originals ued two larger reservoirs for the brakes and one smaller for the clutch. Incorporating this into the build presents a number of challenges. The taller reservoir cans were also used on the 3000 series Austin Healy’s. But those also are almost impossible to find. The smaller can is the same size as is commonly used for PVC solvent cans.  It is common place to use three smaller cans due to theRead More →

Posted info on pedal modification to fit AC style pedals onto Wilwood clutch/brake assembly. The Hurricane kit comes with Wilwood brake and clutch pedals. One of the first mod’s everyone goes to is to incorporate the AC pedal into your car. Just makes it look better. Pedals purchased from Finishline Accessories come “un-machined” on the back boss. It is approximately 3/4″ thick. I mounted mine by machining a 3/16″ slot thru this boss, cutting the pedal arms on the Wilwood assembly to make a lever end, then cross-drilled for a 1/4″ bolt and nut. Hopefully the pictures will show how it was done When IRead More →

garage is not heated and it’s 5 degrees outside 🙁 Positioned and installed heater and glovebox shell. I’ve begun the wiring process. Heater Install – or – NOTHING goes easily I found a heater kit for a BackDraft kit and jumped on it, being able to save some money over the kit from my manufacturer. I was in tall cotton, or so I thought. When I studied the kit, it was designed to be mounted in the engine compartment on the passenger side footbox. Not exactly period correct. No big deal, I’ll use the parts and put it behind the dash. Famous last words. TwiceRead More →