No Crank No Start No Drive (Big Block 1965 Shelby Cobra) Cooling & Charging System Plague 

That car has more fans than a baseball game!

I'm looking forward to your differential portion of this series. One of my "specialties" when I worked at the GM dealer was Corvette differentials. I tried a few ways to remove them, I'm interested in your choice. Thanks for another interesting video. Watch out for those side pipes!

Double stacking (and in this case triple stacking fans) typically makes coolers less efficient. What it needs is better air channeling to the radiator from the grille and under the car. Having too many entry spots causes the hot air to just circulate under the hood.

That poor car finally gets some love from a good tech, probably the best tech to have ever worked on the vehicle. Good job Ray!

When I was in high school 50 years ago, a friend of mine worked at the local service station. The owner of said station owned several other stations and was a serious car collector. I would stop by for a tank a gas and conversation, and peek into the shop to see what was on the service racks. There were usually some of the owners exotics on one of the racks, but the one memorable day there was a cobalt blue 427 AC Cobra. Ross lifted the hood so I could see the 427 wedged into the seemingly impossible space. Man, that car oozed testosterone.

Ray the owner should look into the Holley sniper Fuel injection conversion Kit meant to bolt onto a Carbureted engine, Ray you might leave the 2 fans on the radiator alone, those might be set to run to prevent heat soak after the car has been running

For the power to that amp. The amp SHOULD have a direct connection to the battery (with a fuse). There is a 3rd power connection on the amp called "Remote". That wire is what turns the amp on and off when it senses a 12V signal on that wire. The back of the radio should have a wire called Remote or Rem that goes to that 3rd location on the amp. The Amp shouldn't draw any power until that wire has 12V on it.

Never worry about content. We'll watch. We don't get hot, dirty or bleed But we may still learn something from our arm chairs.

My 454/525hp needed a phenolic spacer on the carb. It would get to operating temp & I shut it down to swap jets on the carb then I saw the fuel just boiling in the bowls..... Plus BB chevy is a cold hearted sob LOL After running to a car show or any where, I have to sit for about 30 minutes before she'll fire up again....my starter is still a stock beastly one. I NEVER got any electric fans to cool my beast.....I had to rig the fan & heavy duty fan clutch (from a 92 454SS pick up) to my short water pump in my 79 Trans Am to get her to run consistently at 180F at all times. Permanently solved my over heat issues :)

I had a 79 Vette for 20 years. A battery box works great when the battery is stuck behind the seat.

I love the random shouts of “hot” every time you hit the exhaust in these videos. Those pipes are no joke.

Good morning Ray. There are a lot of comments here. I think with your knowledge there is no reason for any negativity. Please continue to be yourself ❤..

Smart move to seal the periphery of the radiator

Ray…..love your channel and I have never seen a boring video from you. There is always something to learn or laugh about and in most videos there are both. Just to address one question you had: No, other Cobras whether Kit Cars or Factory built, do not have little side fans to exhaust the heat out the side vents. Nor do they have three fans. Almost all of them have two. Shelby’s, Kirkhams and a couple other less popular kits have 2 fans in front of the radiator. Most others have 2 between the radiator and engine bay. As for the fans, my fans kick on at 95 C (203F) and then off at 94C. These cars (especially Big Blocks) run notoriously hot and it is good for the fans to continue to run when you stop and turn off the engine. Most of them will cool quickly to a safe temp (2 or 3 minutes) and the fans go back off. However, if the engine remains hot, the gas in the bowls boil into the carb creating a flooded condition making them tough to restart after they sit for 15 - 20 minutes. If someone actually knows how to start a flooded condition, it’s not that big of a deal. But I have seen guys crank and crank while pumping the gas pedal making it worse until they run their batteries down to nothing. My suggestion would be to focus on the thermostat for the fans to get them to kick off at the appropriate temp. On another note, I have seen guys who have a manual off / on switch for the fans so they can override the thermostat (I have one…..usually to kick on early rather than kick off early). I always kick on my fans when in stop and go traffic. This car is going to have a lot of oddities to work through and it’s just going to be a question as to how many you want to take on and how many the owner is willing to pay for. You are nearing the point when he will have a car he can go out and drive but it will be with safety concerns and comfort issues. If I were him, I would have you go from the headlights to the taillights and from top to bottom and get the car into the best possible safe reliable condition. You’re just the guy to do it……and with a Chevy engine and a Vette chassis, it will never be a good replica so thinking outside the box to make it a great fun resto-mod should be a perfect match to your skills and creativity. Good luck with it. You’re the man, Ray. Thanks for the awesome videos and keep them coming.

Good morning Ray and Dave, and have great day and stay safe. Rule #1 don't die at work.

As soon as you had shown the front grill opening, I knew what the cooling issue was. I have worked with C-2 Vettes for over 40 years. You did the best fix you could, except I would remove the exterior fan. If the choke is intended to work, it needs a 12v source and a rock solid ground. The vacuum advance, is used should be connected to manifold source for better idle quality.

Always loved the Shelby GT. Great movie Ford Vs Ferrari. Someone took a lot of shortcuts on that replica, Good thing Ray's sorting them out, should be a Cool reliable Hot rod when he's done with it💯💯💯

My initial reaction was to congratulate you for finally working on a car which isn't junk. My second reaction is to congratulate you for working hard to transform this thing into a fun, driveable vehicle.

That Shelby has as many fans as my computer. Nice to see you are getting her straighten out.

Larger gauged battery cables, and direct path to ground from the block is a must.

Truck and 4X4 shop one day, performance car shop the next ... True talent on show there Ray...

Best practice to have fans running when the engine in off, to get rid of heat soak ..or youre going to get the fuel boiling in the carbs every time the car stops for 5 mins to fuel up at petrol station.

Running an additional ground to the engine is a very good idea. However you should Allow the fans to run after the key is off to allow the engine to cool after shut down. On Almost all modern cars the fans run after shut down until the control thermostat turns them off.

Nice to see a video. I miss the daily videos we use to get. Starting my day each day with a Rainman video was, sort of a tradition I started. I guess with the personally owned shop that makes it harder to do daily videos. It's gonna be a bad day without Ray. Cheers.

This ain’t the 3 bears channel…never gonna have just the right length video for everyone 😎

A cousin always says "I have a Shelby Cobra" every time we meet. She's in love with that car. Her husband makes extreme amounts of money and bought her that car just for fun. He used to compete in offshore racing all over the world and his last boat had dual Lamborghini V12 engines. That was his fun project until he damaged his back in that boat. Sea waves and very high speeds as is standard for offshore racing and his body couldn't handle it anymore. I think I'd take his boat over that Shelby Cobra, but I'd be broke just filling up the fuel tank, not to mention the cost of having those engines serviced every few hours. Competing in like that cost millions of dollars a year. Not only do you have to keep those engines drinking, but then you have to transport a huge boat all over the world.

Tunneling that radiator is a must!!! And adding kinda driven belt fan, to avoid sucking even more amps from that tiny alternator...

Great day Ray seeing you fix this car. You gave this car more efficient electron usage.

I and others have asked on your prior video with the AC work you did asking shouldn't the accumulator/dryer be replaced when the system has a new compressor replacing a failed compressor? What is your reasoning for not replacing the dryer? When you worked on your Duramax truck it took you a long time before you finally replaced that dryer. I appreciate all your videos and your explanations Long time viewer for over 3 years and have spread the word for others to join your channel. You are the best Thanks Ray

Yes please do a video when you do the rear end on the kit car.

Ray, You are starting to re-design the entire car into a much better entity entirely. You are exhibiting great design potential.

My experience of electric fans is that they work better as pushers of air than pullers of air unless really well designed ducts or shrouds are used. Also running all those cranking amps through an 8 foot lead is asking for trouble. Instead of running an earth led from the battery, I would double up on the active lead. Provided the battery and engine block have really good chassis connections, resistance should be low. Of course if these connections get hot whilst cranking disregard the above. BTW I think your concern is justified, listening to the starting of the cranking it sounds like the battery is on the way out with a internal resistance increase, but caused by the resistance of the hot lead (have you looked at the cranking temp of the hot lead?) Is that Lotus there just to get ME excited haha

Was my late father’s dream car. Always wanted one and was planning on getting a kit here in the uk for his retirement. Sadly he was a year off making his retirement. If I had the money I’d want to get one for his sake

I like the way you take the electrical problem and identify what it is doing and what it is supposed to do , then reason a resolution. Good thinking saves steps and brings good results. You seam to have mastered the art of trouble shooting . Stay safe , have fun , watch out for hot pipes.

wonderful discussion about the ground issues.

Lots of fans are a start, but that hot air then needs to escape. The tiny fans at the sides will do little once the car is moving, so hopefully there is low pressure there, allowing the hot air out. Once moving, the air under the car is high pressure, so the hot air from the radiators will not excape downwards. The usual route is along the transmission tunnel, to escapeunder the rear skirt, where pressure is lower. However, a large engine will restrict the flow into the trans tunnel. My father had a Triumph Stag, with similar overheating issues. He stuck lots of wool strands over the car, to discover where the low pressure areas were, then cut grilles at the best points. Fixed the overheat issue. He did also at one point, set fire to an old oily rag, and with it smoking well, placed it under the bonnet and drove along, to locate where the air escaped. It didn't. It was circulating through the radiator, forwards past the headlamps, and back through the radiator, losiong little heat on its path. Baffles next to the headlamps fixed the recirculate, to aid the escape through his cut grilles. Really not a good idea to start a fire under the bonnet, big risk, but does your smoke machine work on 12v?

Hey Ray, RU-vid is unsubscribing your viewers. I have been wondering why I hadn't seen your videos on my homepage. I checked the subscriber account and they had cut it off without my permission. It has happened to me on other channels. Sorry for being so long. You are the man, love your videos, and admire your honesty.

Rainman and coffee mornings are the best 😎

A good tech identifies the problems and then begins fixing them one by one. A GREAT tech tackles the problems and is capable of switching things up as things do ultimately change and fixes not only the visible problems but also the hidden ones. You sir, are a great tech. Well done Ray, when you're finished this is going to be a magnificent vehicle.

You're the right guy to work on someone else's electrical issues and this one seems to have plenty!

Corvette Cobra it's coming along nicely. Looking forward to the video when it's all wrapped up and ready to go on a test drive.

The builder of this vehicle is a dope, IMO

Shelby Cobra! Sweet!

I never thought I'd see the day that Ray makes an Only Fans video! lol

That Cobra is awesome, and they came to the right shop!

pretty much just dealt with the same overheating problem on my 02 f150, going from mechanical fan to efan. at first not having a proper shroud and no air dams like you mentioned making in this vid. the air dams were the first thing i did and that alone took me from overheating to running cool. id say for sure that would be a good plan ( you probably already knew this) just figured id mention it. for controlling the temp at which the fans come on i tried the radiator probe first, then i tried the block temp sensor, finally i settled on one of those in line coolant hose adapters that had a spot for the temp sensor and located it in line on the hose feeding back to the radiator, which gave the best effect for keeping the engine cool. 👍

Ray, if it's having cooling issues you should know on those older GM big blocks that the water pumps in those love rot off the fins of the impeller just leaving a spinning disc and leaving you with poor water flow through the radiator.

Ray, I must say, with the Shelby and the Lotus in your shop with the fresh paint on the floor and walls, along with the color-matching lifts and tool boxes, your shop is looking AWESOME, and I have to wonder if we are getting a glimpse of what the future could look like for you. I know you will never give up the daily-driver service work you do day-in and day-out, but it is also nice seeing you work on the projects as well. As you grow, employees are going to be the biggest challenge, and I wish you the best of luck with the people you find. Dave seems like a keeper, and your new guy (sorry, forgot is name) seem pretty green, but that is just a blank canvas for you to work with.

Ray, as usual very entertaining. Great job in figuring out the electrical overheating issues. Some folks think that setting up a home entertainment center is the same I cars. Laughable. Good mechanics like yourself understand ground issues and proper placement as well as voltage drops. I’m amazed they actually fit the kit body on the chassis and lined up the motor/drivetrain. My first 1965 GTO had welded 456 gears and always had wheel hop let alone abnormal tire wear. Hopefully the owner of this vehicle appreciates all the mundane work you put into it. Also, back in my muscle car days overheating was always a problem. There’s so much available today with knowledge gathered from old guys that are still in the business that can share. You’re doing great Ray. Wish I lived close by and allowed to hangout once in awhile.

Great video ray! Youre making great progress on a very difficult project! Keep going youll cross the finish line soon!😊

Great job Ray, determination does pay off when backed by a wealth of knowledge!

Oh man, give us all the content, can't be boring coming from you Ray!

The problem is not the fans pulling air from the wheel wells or the engine bay, but rather the airflow when the vehicle is in motion, bypassing the radiator altogether, placing a shroud around the radiator prevents the air from bypassing it and forces it through the radiator.

My Dad was 'building' a car like this...he'd invite his buddies over and they'd argue with each what to fix next...then that one guy who 'knew tools' would take over and do some actual work. I don't think they ever got it running without cussing each other out first. They got it running, but Dad treated it like a 'hot house flower' and never drove it anywhere.

had a cobra kit car myself. loved it. never had heat issue like this. but didn't know they made a kit to use a corvette chassis. only kit i knew that used the corvette chassis was the Ferrari Daytona famous from Miami Vice show. i guess i am somewhat a purist in that if it is a Ford it should have a Ford motor. never liked any car that changes the manufactor of engine in the car even the '32 Ford that most people use a sbc but i don't like that. this kit car definitely had someone who didn't know what they were doing in this build. seen that a bunch when i had mine.

The extra fans are likely to block the airflow rather than improve the cooling. It really needs the ducting and venting sorted. Also check the fans are rotating the correct way, it is a common mistake to wire them backwards and be pushing forward through the radiator! Given the other atrocious wiring mistakes.....

ray, a bit of a heads up on that rear end, depending on the year its from, it may be a factory posi. set up for the heavy weight of a corvette it would practically be a full time locker in something that light making it seriously sketchy to drive on the street

That is my second most favorite car ever. My first being a 1973 Chevrolet Vega wagon, Brown with Brown woodgrain tan interior white walls and hubcaps.

When vanity was prioritized over functionality.

I own a 1978 Corvette, and cooling has always been a problem. I solved these problems by creating an air dam so the fan pulls in fresh cool air. Sounds very similar to the Colby's problems.

Friday comment, on a monday. Hope your weekend was great.

Ray, the rear end is a pig that bolts onto the the rear housing that the spring is mounted to. Depending on access to the top bolts you may be able to pull the pig without dropping the rear suspension.

I recommend making your own battery cables using locomotive cable (many more strands giving better current flow)for the power and ground.

Ray any updates on the lift inspections? Please keep all of us in the loop as we want all of you at the shop to work safely.

I don't think I have ever seen a worse initial radiator set up. It almost seems to have been designed for the air flow to blow over the grill rather than through it. No wonder they put all those fans on.

I've always wanted an Shelby Cobra. I love the shape, I love the fact that they were considered one of the fastest production cars ever built. I love the simplicity. However.... After watching this video, and yes, I know it's a kit car.... I think i've changed my mind. I don't want one. Perhaps I'm just getting old.

I’ve driven a few of these and I find a smaller modified engine is better than a big block. The big blocks sound great by the front end is so heavy that they handled like my grandmothers Chrysler. Drove a 351 and that was nearly a perfect combination of power and weight. Just my opinion.

If you have a solid metal frame , then all you need is heavy duty wiring from engine block to frame and frame to battery negative. If no solid metal frame then you need wiring from battery to common earth and positive points that are 3 to 4 gauges heaver than that required to carry all electrical loads. This is to ensure that you have minimum voltage drop when starting a cold or lightly frozen motor.

I love the cable spaghetti there under the dash. It seems that, during the build of that car, they could have used something like a Painless Wiring harness. I'm sure there was a better way than just running individual wires through the cabin.

If that's a cold start look like the choke is not set right. Not sure if it's thermal ? An automatic choke when set right is fantastic. Excellent video ray!!

should probably make a intake shroud to protect that radiator and fan from any rocks or ground debris from entering that area. a large mesh would work without inhibiting air flow. those 454 engines were always beast on battery on start up. I remember folks use to get the highest amp battery for them.

Most other cobra kits had radiator leaning forward. For air flow. Corvette were made that way. Leaning towards the back. That's why it is over heating.

You should probably install two batteries in parallel, not to each other but to power and ground, with all those fans and a stereo (easier on the alternator and starter). Carb: Adjust 2 - 2.5 turns out each, turn in until it starts to run rough, out a half a turn. Do that a few times, as when you lean them both out, backing them out may end-up slightly richer than your original setting. A way to set carbs in the old days was; lean until it starts to run rough, out a half turn, then out one more eighth of a turn. Both sides should be equal turns.

Chev powered cobra, so wrong so many ways, but love it anyway, if anyone can sort it ray can, can't wait for the test drive what a beast, would never get that registered in Australia.. love your vids ray all the best..

I had starting issues with my '69 Mustang C351, AT (way back then) in winter conditions. I replaced the battery cables with '00' gauge welding cables, Pos and Neg directly to the engine block and starter. Never had a problem after that, except that was the 'rusty fords' era, and the body was gone in 5 years.

One of my pet peeves when working on a project vehicle of ANY kind - some folks simply shouldn't be allowed under the hood. The momentos they leave behind for US to find can be a challenge, especially when the drivetrain is different from the vehicle, lol!!

I ran a 67 Mustang in NHRA Pro Bracket racing. We ran a huge number of electrical accessories, fan, fuel pump two step rpm limiter fan etc. We had to total number of amps needed and had alternator rewound to make over 100 amps to keep voltage at 13.5 V DC. You will have to rewind alternator to make it work

1 electric fan from a crown Vic mounted on a shroud in the puller configuration will help the most with cooling. Old Chevy big blocks run a little warm anyway. It’s hard to keep them at a small block temp

I can only imagine the relieved quick pace and rapid flow state you were in when you did not have to film and dumb things down for us here in youtube land with your very easy to understand explanations while working off camera. I am not mechanically inclined but I follow a very similar troubleshooting tree of logic that you can apply to just about anything and that's why I love your videos. Your logic is my checksum. Thank you for your videos! I would love to see your personal take on the phantom power draw issues that commonly occur on 2003 PT Cruisers. The cars are awesome on gas mileage when they can start lol. Seems there's many ways it can happen and as a "quick-fix" we had to just install a battery cable quick release clamp for just the positive terminal and unplug the battery manually. Always fun on a super hot of cold day and takes a lot of wind out of ADHD sails. It is a "poorboy" anti-theft system if anything but the constant required movement of the positive wires attached and extra steps daily required to start the car cannot possibly be good over time.

I'm really interested in the progress on the Shelby. The installation of the front fan is perfect. Closing off the open spaces is definitely going to bring in more cool air. Thank you for the updates on the issues you have been finding. I have always enjoyed your channel and content. Can't wait for the differential repair.

I've run heavy welding cable for starter leads when running from a rear battery . It prevents all starting problems .

Radiator shroud is the way to go

I can imagine an LS in a 40 pound go-kart with a welded diff would be... exciting...

I'm looking forward to the Lotus video. I've had it for 5 years now and it's my favorite.

Always interested in all your content Ray. Boring, hot time consuming, it doesn't matter. You are great sir. thanks.

Put a 200 amp ANL fuse at the battery like you did on your truck 200 amps is overkill but its short circuit protection then run a 4ga ground wire like your truck from the battery to the motor mounts engine side bolt. Where is the radio installed? Glove box? Now they make 3-4" thick radios without cd players you can plug your phone into and control the radio from. Trick on running 3-4-5 16 ga wires to same place you can even do 10 ga as long as it fits your drill chuck Put one end in a vice and run the drill but the length gets shorter as you twist them. Then you can put split loom on them and use black tape over it or cloth tape looks nice and tidy.

Personally, I rather like your fans. They're a pretty cool lot, most of them, always supportive of the channel...oh, you meant the rotary air impellers in the vehicle. ...Yeah, I think that's a pretty workable solution, given what you have to work with. Not a lot of space, and airflow over/through that canted radiator can't be very good in the first place, so it needs all the help it can get!

I got to drive a C3 Corvette with a built 427 and a 5 speed. Had some side pipes on it. They got HOT. Made some sizzle noises when my leg touched it.

I think Ray said once " Use Custom parts get custom problems.

The vacuum advance is hooked to the ported source....should be on a manifold vacuum port so it's advanced at idle. That is the one on the drivers side of the carb. This will greatly reduce the heat loading at idle.

I'm a fan of your fan 🎉 keep up the great work

The radiator fans on my Merkur XR4TI often run after key off to reduce the temperature.

Battery ground going to roll bar on a fiberglass body. Nice!

I'd rust the car's temp gauge more than those infrared ones. The IR's are good for noting temp differences, like top to bottom of radiator, but for measuring the actual temp of the coolant, an actual gauge is best. The car sure sounds much better than before, tho!

Morning, did anyone notice that only 1 accelerator pump squirter was working? I blew it up an watched it again. I used to hang out at the circle track, along time wining car builder told me one of the biggest causes for DNF was ground wires . have fun with it.

My dream car!

another great vid yes great idea to add an extra force in fan no need for the external shop fan

Great video with all the fixes you are doing to get this Cobra reliable to take out on a nice cruise. I was having cooling issues with my 1970 Chevelle SS454. What I found that helped out was I installed a "high flow" thermostat. You might want to put one of those on that BBC.

I am also looking forward to a rear differential video, my 1977 corvette needs some rear differential service and I would live to learn from a professional of your quality Ray!!

Good work Ray! When you build any of those kits, seems as though you have to come up with modifications that will work for your specific problems. Those old big block chevy engines, even some of the small blocks are notorious for running hot, some can even run hot on one side. I had in marine applications, would put a temperature gage on each side.