Glad to hear it. I've learned that when you doing a project like this, it is all about the details.

I'm told that the engine which came in this car was a "new" engine, though I have no idea what that actually means. Best I can figure is that it may have been installed just before the car was stripped down and put into primer and has thus sat for many years (at least 10). Which was nice for me because it meant I got a mint set of early 13B housings. The irons weren't painted, but interestingly, the front cover was painted black. Also, much of the hardware on the engine was not original.

I actually had 2 minutes of spare time in the video, so I figured, why not. It was either that or "And now ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Conway Twitty....". Normally I am chopping footage out on final edit (after already editing down about 2 hours of video to the good stuff) to stay under the 15 minute limit on YouTube. I'm trying to show as much detail as possible without being boring or repetitive...


Hobbies should stay hobbies, so it's computers during the day (which is no longer a hobby) and cars at night.

 

Whens the next video aaron?

 

Because of the holidays I only just got back into the project after not being able to touch it much for about 2 weeks. I'm editing part 9 right now but don't know when it will be up as the work I wanted to include in this episode isn't quite done yet (almost though).

 

Hey Aaron, I just picked up a 1976 Cosmo. If you need some trim, tail lights, or grills, I have about 3 sets of each.

I am restoring mine too, but I think Canada was less kind to yours!

 

I believe I have all that coming, I just need to follow up with the seller. But I will keep you in mind, just in case.

 

Sounds good.

Have you any ideas for a rear axle swap? The rear rotors are basically non-existent.

I am going through options on potentially swapping in an FB 3rd member. The front is getting FB spindles and strut assemblies, as well as the RE-Speed Big Brake kit, making it 5 lug with TII calipers. Also an FB booster and master cylinder are going in. If I can get an FB rear end in there, I can get the RE-Speed 5 lug axles and better brakes there as well.

Surely its possible right? There just isn't any info out there for Cosmo's dammit!

 

I'm not about to swap the rear axle. There was an extra set of rear rotors in the trunk when I got the car still in their original Mazda boxes. Just a bit of surface rust from sitting.

Now, the thing is, the Cosmo has a weird lug pattern of 4 x 120. So I may end up getting the rear axles redrilled for a more common pattern if I can't find wheels, along with the fronts. There is almost certainly another car that has similar brake rotors. It would take some measuring of the Cosmo rotors and then some calls to manufacturers to find them, but I'm sure they exist.

Or, it is not unreasonable to have a machine shop just make a set.

But I'm really not that concerned with it at the moment. The rotors I have on the car are new anyway so I'll just blast them and then have them turned.

 

If I can't swap the rear axle out, I am going with some 4x120->5x114.3 wheel adapters. Not the best way to do it, but I don't plan on making enough HP to break them.

 

why the hang up on the fb??
and there is stuff out there you just have to be patient and you will find all that you need and make phone calls
also Aaron iam still working the deal with a wheel manufacture that i have gotten a hold of throught a wheels next so if it goes though we will be able to have coustom cosmo wheels but i need design ideas.

 

I've been doing a lot of engine work lately, so for episode 9 I change gears a little and move onto a random task: shaving the door handles. This involves installing a solenoid into the door which will now electrically activate the door latch, and then removing the exterior handle holes from the door. What I thought was a quick task turned out to be more time consuming than I thought due to the difficulty of working inside the door and my lack of sheet metal talent. Included in this episode: installing AutoLoc 50LBs shaved door solenoids, modifying solenoid bracket to fit doors, setting up a pulley mechanism, modifying stock door latches for shaved doors, door window removal, wiring the solenoids, cutting out sheet metal patches for the door handle holes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj85UXEsRuA

 

Nice project and nice work.

As mentioned earlier, please don't put big ol pimp wheels on an old school car. Anything over 16" just doesn't look real good on an old school car IMO.

Keep up the good work.

 

I've been looking around, and making calls. But, if I want it to handle and stop (like I want it too) it will need some upgrades. Using the FB front spindles makes the front end much easier to upgrade.

I still have no info on the rear end swap, so I am just going to dive into it. This thing is NOT going to remain stock. It needs to handle much better to keep my interest. Stock will not do at Deals Gap.

 

i like the way you work...it make me want to go in the cold *** garage...what kind of bandsaw are you working with? would it be able to cut 1/2 inch aluminum?....i enjoy watching your videos.....keep up the good work...

 

So I'm curious how are you going to pull on the door to open it? Spring or something so it pops open?

 

I think 17" will be my limit after I did some measuring last week. I had a few spare wheels around and held them up to the car. 17" should tuck in very nicely. Anything larger looks like a cartoon and totally doesn't suite the car. The wheels I have chosen are sort of a modern take on an older design

The band saw is an imported model sold by a local tool store, which happens to be a customer of mine. It is a quality inexpensive saw, and similar models are sold under several names. I've seen saws that look much like it being sold by Harbor Freight. Mine has no issues at all with 1/2" aluminum. I've put 4" solid aluminum rods through it (making engine mounts) without trouble, though they do take a few minutes to cut. One thing I did modify on the saw was to make a cutting fluid pump for cutting steel. The cutting oil keeps the cut cool and the blade sharp.

I have not quite decided where yet, but there will be a small spring loaded plunger installed on either the door or the door jam. At this point I am thinking of replacing the courtesy light switch with the mechanism and relocating the switch to inside the door (using a microswitch).

That's a bit why I am going with an air suspension. I can both improve the handling to something acceptable by modern standards while still maintaining the comfort the car should have, and I can pick the stance. For spirited driving, I have the RX-7.

 

Very nice work !!! Subscribed

 

Question: The sound is pretty good for a having the microphone a distance away, but have you though about using one of those microphones that pin to your shirt? So your voice is a little more clear and not so much ambient noise around? I am not being dick and trying to be picky just wondering if you thought that? I also like the commentary that you added while the video was playing.

 

I'd love to, but alas, my camera does not have an external mic input. I have been shooting everything with my Panasonic DMC-FX3 point and shoot. It takes great video although the sound quality is lacking.

I've tried 3 digital camcorders and have been unhappy with the quality of all of them. They ranged in price from a $200 refurb to a $1500 pro-sumer HD camera (I got it on sale for $700) and they all record poorly in standard def compared to my point and shoot.

 

cool im not the only one on here with shaved door handles anymore...i had to weld a pulley inside my door also...i used a spal 50lb kit for mine...and yes your right it is more of a task then you think to complete this job correctly...i hate working inside the door!!!

 

also be carefull not to get your metal too hot when you weld it in or the door will warp...might not be as bad on ur car, because im just guessing but i bet the door metal is thicker than that of a 89 TII, but beware not to get it too hot...ask me how i kno////

 

There were two reasons why I decided to shave the doors on the Cosmo:

1. Always wanted to shave doors on something for the smoothness

2. There were no door handles when I bought the car

I'm thinking of also installing door poppers on my Insight as well, though not eliminating the handles, just for the convenience.

You'll see in the next video that I was very careful not to heat up the door too much. However in doing so, I caused a serious amount of metal shrinkage which lead to some major warping. I then had to spend about 3 hours beating the door as straight as I could get it. The drivers door went better with thinner wire, much less current and no forced cooling but still warped quite a bit.

 

ya i had a fun time getting mine straight after i welded it, and i was as carefull as possible...i shaved the ones on my sec gen just because my door handles and locks were broke so i said y not...

 

Have you considered using something similar to a hood damper it might be a lot smoother than something spring loaded?

 

My issue was that I kind of did it wrong. I should have made a panel to fill the stock door handle stampings, welded it in, then ground down the top lip and made another small patch panel to fill in the lip. By cutting the handle stamping area out I totally took all the strength out of that area of the door and had to weld into unsupported weak sheet metal...a classic rookie mistake which I won't make again. No amount of minimized welding heat will stop metal from warping when welding into a big flat area.

That's an interesting idea that I had not considered. I wonder where I could mount a strut? Maybe at the front door jam? Then again, most pneumatic dampers don't have much push at the start of their stroke which is exactly where it is needed in this case.

 

My popper i installed are smooth as can be...they rest against the door when its closed so its not like there popping out and slapping the door when you open it...