A high-torque starter spins this mighty 383 to life at Rosen's command and an Edelbrock 3500 port fuel injection unit takes care of the fuel metering chores. The 8/30-pound injectors provide enough fuel to make the expected 500-plus hp. Edelbrock provides, as part of the kit, a cockpit-mounted tuning module to allow Rosen to modify the fuel map in real time. A different fuel map will be created for drag racing, road racing, or just plane cruising.
When it came to cooling, Rosen turned to Edlebrock once more for a water pump. Coolant is pumped forward to an aluminum nose mounted radiator fitted with two electric fans. Stainless steel hoses with A&E fittings are used for heater. A burst hose in the cockpit would be disastorous.
The body is unstressed hand-laid GRP, with a color gelcoat. The front cowl is intended to be riveted on, but Rosen has chosen to make it removable for service.
Rosen opted to pay extra to have the body flashing trimmed and for mounting of the doors and mounting of the body. He touted, "It costs extra but well worth the expense." Ultima shims the body for a proper fit and tapes the shims in place so when you remove the body, all the shims will remain where needed.
Ultima offers two windshields: a low, LeMans screen and the full glass screen. Both are mounted on their own frames, so either one will drop into a specially molded section on the main scuttle panel. Rosen purchased both and will change them out depending on the situation.
Rosen's Can Am has a soft roof, but it only usable with the full windshield. The half, LeMans-style windshield is intended for those spirited wind-in-your-face days.
Rosen chose to change out his wiring harness and its 86 circuits. He cut the harness apart and strung it out, using a buzz box and multimeter, starting with the circuit breakers. With the harness laid out with battery, switches, lights, gauges, etc connected, Rosen tested each circuit to ensure all would function correctly.
Rosen decided the smart thing for him to do was create his own wiring diagram to fill the needed information gap. The engine harness, intended for a front-engine car, also required reworking to fit this rear-engine application.
Once Rosen sorted out the wiring, he routed the harness down the passenger sidepod. Because everything is center-mounter, the harness is long enough that it could fit on either side, left or right.
Because of the tight fit in the foot box, Rosen chose to fabricate his own gas pedal and left foot rest. It "wound up to be more work than I thought, but you know what they say." He also fabricated his own dash to his own specs.
The interior of the Can Am has aluminum panels riveted to the frame members with a lot of rivets. Rosen has built small airplanes in the past so was prepared for this monumental task. "I bought the (pneumatic) riveter from Harbor Freight." "The majority of rivets used were 1/8-inch diameter, aluminum rivets with a steel shank." The majority of them were put in place by hand, then popped. Where there is easy access to the rivets, you can easily do one every five seconds.
At 44 inches high, the Ultima's position is low to say the least. Rosen said, "It's a little bit 'smushed' in the front, but that was the style of the Can Am. The long rear section tells you that there is a lot of power back there, even if there might not be.
"It has to be one of the most eye-catching cars on and off the road. Anywhere I park it, it attracts a crowd, which is fine, unless I'm in a hurry to leave the car and people are offended if I don't answer their questions.
"It's great to drive, and with the long windscreen, it's relatively blast free in the cockpit. However, since I worry about maintenance, I installed a removable crossmember to keep me from doing gymnastics every time I need to work on something."