I'm with WoodZ on a lot of this.
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Originally Posted by Silverback51
I understand what you are saying, but being an engineer myself, I do believe it's not the best design I have ever seen.
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I could say that to pretty much everything the Big 3 produces. Heck, even a Mercedes has its shortcomings. Just fewer than most.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Silverback51
I will however probably buy a set of the new brackets and keep them on hand if needed.
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Whether it's brackets or just replacing the existing bolts with ones that have longer shoulders, I'm not clear why anyone would purchase what is essentially an
upgrade and not install it?
Especially if you plan to stress the car and not just do gentle cruises.
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Originally Posted by Silverback51
This will however go on my list of things to check on a monthly basis, or after a spirited ride.
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"After" could be too late? At the least, it's less than $10 worth of hardware and about one hour of labor. These cars (Cobras in general) shake, rattle, hiccup, spit and grind far more than any production car. They require constant vigilance and oversight. If you're not regularly checking fasteners and stress points for these "race cars with license plates", then it might not be the best hobby for that particular person (not you Silverback directly, I'm referring to anyone that owns/drives a Cobra replica).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Silverback51
I would like to point out also that based on the number of members that have looked at their cars, and found a problem, that the failure rate is quite high considering the limited number of cars out there.
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If less than 4/10 of 1% (my SWAG) is "quite high", then we all have a different definition to the term. If I was to take my '02 Z06 to Willow Springs and run some hot laps (even on the stock hides), I'm probably going to loosen and/or snap parts unless I perform some pre-spirited prep work. And I'm pretty certain that I would discover some factory parts that weren't up to that level of punishment (and, I might add, even though a 'Vette like the Z06 was designed for more abuse than the average production car).
What I'm not going to do is post here and defend any car make or any one component. All I'm saying is look at parts failure in the context of what the vehicle is used for and how it's being driven. And then ask yourself, "Has this vehicle been properly prepared to address the situations that I'm going to encounter or put it through?" I believe that if you honestly answer that question and apply some common sense to the framework that you have either built or inherited, you will find a TON of things that likely need some fortification.
I've said my two cents and if anyone wants to talk to me more about this, they can e-mail me.
Peace,
-Dean