Vroom!

Finally, after all those hours, came the day of days: we were ready to start the engine!

Unfortunately, the car wasn't ready to start its engine.

Here Nate tinkers with the starter relay. We thought maybe that was the problem, because when he shorted the terminals he got lots of sparks, and the engine turned over.

Nope. That wasn't it. Now Amos looks on as Nate tinkers with the fuel pump.

You can tell how things are going by the look on Amos' face; he has been anticipating this moment as much as any of us!

The fuel pump is supposed to make a rapid clicking noise when you turn the key. It didn't.

This turned out to be because we hadn't screwed the computer waring harness connector all the way into the computer. You have to turn that screw many, many times till it gets seated.

Once we did that, we got that lovely clicking noise from the fuel pump. Success!

But the engine still wouldn't turn over.

After taking apart the starter relay, and numerous other expert trouble-shooting measures (relatively few of which resulted in more showers of sparks) we finally traced the problem to a dirty "Neutral Safety Switch" (which is actually attached to the clutch ).

Once we cleaned the switch, the engine cranked!

We cranked it over (with the coil disconnected) for a minute or two to get oil into the bearings. Then we reconnected the coil and ...

Vrooooom!! The engine makes its very own motor noises!

Amazingly, it started instantly the moment Nate turned the key.

Wow, it's loud! In the enclosed space of the garage (even with all three doors and the windows open) it sounds like it has a thousand horsepower!

Roaaaar!!! Here you can see revs on the tach (the big guage on the left) and oil pressure (the small guage on the upper right).

We temporarily installed the Mustang guage cluster just for testing the engine and electrical system. Note the sophisticated temporary mounting system, composed of two bungees and Nate's left knee.

Later we'll dismantle the Mustang guage cluster and remove the guages so we can put them in the new Cobra-style instrument panel.

Don't worry, that ugly snarl of wire will get organized in the next few days. Right now we're just testing.

Here's me and Nate, grinning from ear to ear.

No, the picture is not hazy due to bad photography. The haze is blue smoke from the engine, which had been sitting for some months before we ran it.

After it ran for a while, the smoke cleared and it ran clean. Whew!

Here it is, ready for bed at the end of its first day of life as a Cobra.

Wooohoooo!