Windshield...Done !

After six weeks of swapping parts with Factory Five we finally had good windshield supports. Dad came over Sunday and helped me with the install. It took about two hours. Later, Josey helped me assemble and install the wipers. The kit included most of the parts but I had to modify a few things to get an installation I was happy with.

A quick video below...

Now we need a license plate light, reverse light and insurance. Wow, its getting close!

Installed Hood and Doors

It's only been a week since I shipped the windshield supports back to Factory Five so I expect another two weeks before the windshield can be installed. However, that didn't slow us down this weekend. After many hours of head scratching and a few mistakes I managed to get the doors and hood alligned. The door hinges move smoothly and the catches are strong and sure.
When you close the doors they click closed and thats it; they don't rattle around or move up and down as they close. I'm really impressed at the adjustment range to get it all right. Don't get me wrong - it's not a heavy steel door like a production car - but for a fiberglass-kit-car-door it feels good!

The hood took a few hours of trimming to get it to sit square in the opening. Then I bungled the rear latch install. I know I can fix it, but, I should have followed the advice on the forum instead of the instructions in the assembly manual. Grrrrr! Sometimes you just have to make a choice and deal with the consequences.

In the first picture you can clearly see the pins at the front of the hood. This way the hood will be removeable. Other people omit the pins and install a hinge at the front of the hood. The hinge provides a clean look but I just love hood pins!

Next - trunk lid install...

Windshield - Mufflers and Dash Install

Today I built the switch panel below the instrument panel. The red flag is the master battery kill switch - might be handy in a kit car. To the right of it is a 12 volt accessory socket. There are three toggle switches to control the ignition system, fuel pump and cooling fan override. A good friend cut out the switch panel from .067" alluminum at his machine shop; it turned out very nice. It also serves to stiffen up the dash which otherwise has very little support along the bottom. Eventually the top of the transmission tunnel will receive black carpet but I plan to leave the switch panel bare.
I installed the mufflers last weekend. Took a few hours working by myself. Kym came out later to sign off on my work. She says it'll do.

Dad came over to help install the windshield. I really needed his help. Its a two person job requiring extensive patience. As we drilled the holes in the supports the chrome started peeling off. After a week of disscussions with Factory Five they have agreed to replace the supports. We should have new supports by mid June. So, for now, the windshield is back in the box.

So, whats next? I don't know, maybe the doors and hood. We'll just have to see what I feel like tomorrow.

Starting to look like a car!

Mother's day weekend - took advantage of my brother-in-law, Kevin, to help me lift the body onto the Cobra. Then we secured the body to the frame at the 14 attaching points.

After the family left I started working on some details. As you can see in these pictures I installed the headlights, taillights and signals. The Aston-Lemans gas cap went on as well; I love seeing that on the car, kinda makes it an official race car! After a bit of massaging to the body holes, the roll bar went on.

You can see the quick-jacks at the front and rear of the car. They're still unfinished steel so they will have to come back off for paint or powder coat or whatever. On the original racing Cobras these were used to quickly jack up the car for tire changes. They aren't funcional on my replica so I may just leave them off. Don't know just yet. Lets see how many times I bust my shin on them and then I'll decide.




You don't get to see it in these pictures, but all the lights came on when I flipped the appropriate switches. (That was kinda important, I felt some relief.) The horns even honked. We'll be driving this thing before you know it.

Whats next? Mufflers and windshield. Then the dash. Followed by the hood, doors and trunk. If everything is still going well we get it insured, inspected, and registered!

Our First Go Cart Ride

Well, this isn't the first go cart ride, but it's close. Ride went well and everything performed as expected. The seats aren't bolted down yet and I would slide back everytime I hit the gas making it difficult to depress the clutch! The seat needs to be a tad higher as well.

What a great feeling! After this ride Kym jumped in and we went for a 2 mile drive around the neighborhood. Kym said, "This isn't legal is it?"

"They have to catch us first", I replied! Ahh, the wind in your hair.

First Start

Started the Cobra today!! First start. Engine came right to life and sounded great. We did find a minor fuel leak - easy to fix, and an oil leak. The oil leak may take a bit of work. I used a kit to relocate the oil filter from the engine block to the frame in front of the engine. The oil is leaking at the adapter on the engine block. I was told this might be a problem so I'm disappointed but not surprised.

There are no mufflers on the car yet - they are being ceramic coated right now. So, first start was just thru the catalytic converters. Sounds pretty good.

Just yesterday I was saying I might have this thing running in a couple more weeks. Then today each little project led to the next and all-of-a-sudden it was ready to start. I couldn't believe it. I kept checking and checking but couldn't find anything else to hook up. The time had arrived. So, I grabbed my neighbor, my son and my wife and dragged 'em all out to the garage. Kym grabbed the camera on the way out (thank you.) What a moment!

I guess the next step is to finish cleaning up the wiring. Most of the "wire diet" is complete (removing unnecessary circuits) so now I just have to tidy things up. Next landmark is the first go-kart ride!

The Trunk Modifications

Three modifications can be seen in the above picture. First is the battery relocation. Factory Five instructions call for the battery to sit on the trunk floor (taking up valuable space.) I built a box to "hang" the battery from the trunk floor. Later, a lid will cover the battery compartment.

Also seen are the external battery terminals. Since getting to the battery might be tricky (at night, in a parking lot with a dead battery), I decided to install these extra terminals. They allow a jumper battery to be hooked up without actually going to the battery.

Lastly is the trunk expansion kit. The entire lower section of the trunk was expanded down to provide additional storage capacity. This kit came from CobraEarl and took a weekend to install. He provided excellent instructions in the form of a Power Point presentation. I simply took the lap top computer out to the garage and flipped thru the presentation (with lots of pictures.) Getting my work to look like his vivid photos made the task fun!

This view is from the front looking back. We see the backside of the remote battery terminals. The homemade battery box can be seen a little better.

And, finally, with the floors sitting (not fastened yet) in place. This gives a better idea what the finished trunk will look like.