Excalibur Owners: Please Reply!

[ohekk]

BLACKJACK...

SORRY...DID NOT GET YOUR E-MAIL.

T

[Aloys]

Hi Tom, when I picked up VIN 085,the dealer handed a 4page-leaflet over to me, on the back was the attached tech-info
Good idea collecting Excalibur history.
Aloys

[Aloys]

..oops, seems like File wasn`t sent, one more try!

[ohekk]

I stopped at the Excalibur factory this morning and spoke with
the owner.

As you know, they stopped manufacturing Cobras several years ago because of the DOT required CRASH tests.

They successfully built cargo trailers and now appears that chapter has come to an end.

Employess were layed off, the equipment is being removed and the trailer business is being sold.

All the Excalibur (Neo-classic) as well as the Cobra molds & fixtures are for sale.

[cobraeric]

Tom

found one more:
VIN# 107
1996
owner: Uwe K.
black
302 EFI w.Edelbrock and Ford Motorsport components
Powerdyne supercharger being installed next week
9" rear end
T5 manual 5 speed
16" Compomotiv wheels

Hope you can find more!

Eric

HI TOM,

DO YOU THINK THAT THERE IS ANY CHANCE THAT THE FOLKS REMAINING AT THE EXCALIBUR FACTORY MIGHT HAVE OLD COPIES OF THE ORIGINAL MANUALS, LITERATURE, ETC. LYING ABOUT THAT THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO SELL US???

I SURE WOULD LIKE TO GET SOME OF THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTATION OR EVEN DECENT COPIES.

Y'ALL HAVE A REALLY GREAT DAY,

BLACKJACK

[ohekk]

I've asked him regarding this on several occasions.

He insists there is nothing left.

I spoke with several former employees and they said when the Cobra line was shut down, most of the stuff went into dumpsters.

HEY TOM,

DO YOU THINK WE MIGHT "POLL" OR MEMBERS - OR AT LEAST THE GUYS ON THIS THREAD - AS TO WHO HAS WHAT DOCUMENTATION?

PERHAPS WE COLD MAKE COPIES OF WHATEVER WE HAD AND SWAP THEM BACK & FORTH. ALTERNATIVELY. SEND THEM TO A TRUSTED CENTRAL MEMBER TO HAVE COPIES MADE AND DISTRIBUTED ON A "SHARE THE PRICE" BASIS.

I HAVE A FAIRLY GOOD (USED TO BE EXCELLENT) COPY OF THE BLACK COVERED 8 1/2" X 5" OWNERS MANUAL. MOST
EVERYTHING ELSE THAT I HAD WENT UP INSMOKE AT THE RECENT FIRE AT MY HOME.

I KNOW THAT THERE WERE TWO OR THREE DIFFERENT PIECES OF 4 COLOR SALES BROCHURES AND A LARGER OWNER/OPERATOR/ ASSEMBLY MANUAL, AS WELL AS LITERATURE ON THE HARD TOP.

I HAD ALSO HAD A MANUAL THAT WAS 8 1/2" X 11" LAID OUT IN "PORTRAIT" FASHION THAT WAS SPIRAL BOUND AND ABOUT AN INCH OR MORE THICK THAT HAD WONDERFUL DETAILS ON JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING ON THE CAR. (NOTE THE USE OF THE WORD "HAD").

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK???

Y'ALL HAVE A REALLY GREAT DAY,

BLACKJACK

[cobraeric]

Hey Blackjack,

I like the idea and I'm very interested in all of the stuff you mentioned. Here's what I have:

1) 4-page glossy color brochure with a red Excalibur Cobra on front, page 2 and 3, and a picture of the interior. Side 4 like the image Aloys sent.

2) Color Poster about 32"x 21" with the same red Cobra, title:
"THE ART OF AUTO MAKING" THE INTRODUCTION OF THE JAC 427
COBRA BY EXCALIBUR AUTOMOBILE CORPORATION MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN OCTOBER 28th 1993

3) A copy of a copy of the 30 page owner's manual JAC 427 printed 1993. About 8" x 5" inch

4) April 1996 issue of "Car and Driver" magazin with a 2 page test of the car.

By the way, when I called Excalibur about 2-3 years ago a guy told me they were giving the car business away with spare parts,
lists and all the other junk to two companys nearby. One name was Cameo Classics, the other Greg Gench or Gensch. Maybe one
of you guys over there could check that out.

Looking forward to some new Excalibur stuff.

Eric

[ohekk]

As I understand; Gregg got a lot of the BIG Excalibur (the Neo-classic) parts when they shut that line down and started up the Cobra line...

...where as much of the Cobra stuff was just dumped.

I have some Excalibur literature that I'll bring with me to DVSF II.

Tom

HEY TOM,

I'M SORRY THAT THIS TOOK SO LONG. (OF COURSE - AT MY AGE EVERYTHING DOES).

I FINALLY RETRIEVED TWO MORE BOXES OF BURNED AND SCORCHED PAPERS AND FOUND THE FOLLOWING INFO ON MY CAR:

1995 MODEL YEAR - EXCALIBUR COBRA

VEHICLE I.D.: 1XACA2310SM123070

ENGINE: FORD 5.0L H/O 215HP, 285#-FT TORQUE, COMP 9.0:1

FUEL TANK: 17.5 GAL

COMPOMOTIVE 16" WHEELS

CAR HAS A/C AND AM/FM CASETTE PLAYER - WHICH CANNOT BE HEARD WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING.

TIRES: 225/55ZR16 - FRONT, 255/50ZR16 - REAR

TRANNY: FORD 5AOD

REAR END: FORD 9".

REAR AXLE RATIO: 3.50:1

OVERDRIVE RATIO: .68:1

TOP SPEED: 145 MPH (I DOUBT IT), 0-60 5.9 SECONDS

THE ENGINE, TRANNY & REAR AXLE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE 1995 MUSTANG. MY ENGINE, HOWEVER, HAS A 1994 CODE TAG.

THE CAR WAS REGISTERED AS A 1995.

PAINT CODE: SIKKENS URETHANE ENAMEL, 400 BLACK BASE WITH CLEAR COAT.

THE ABOVE INFO WAS OBTAINED FROM THE ORIGINAL OWNER AND FROM DAVE ARTHUR FROM EXCALIBUR SALES.

THE CAR IS BLACK ON BLACK WITH NO STRIPES. I'VE DONE A NUMBER OF MODS TO IT INCLUDING A HARDTOP. NEXT ITEM WILL BE A KENNE BELL SUPERCHARGER.

I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN GETTING ALL THE INFO AND DOCUMENTATION THAT I CAN. I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE SOME VERY UNIQUE CARS AND CAN PULL OUR RESOURCES TO OUR MUTUAL BENEFIT.

Y'ALL HAVE A REALLY GREAT DAY,

BLACKJACK

[Jamo]

.

[Jamo]

Oops, sorry

[cobraeric]

Tom,

one more:

VIN#: 000193
owner: Winfried Bitz
color: red
engine: 351
man. 5 speed

The owner says according to the Dealer, the car was built around November 1992 and was the very first one Excalibur built. It is probably the one on that sales broshure. Some details are different than the other ones I know like door latches, stamped steel front control arms instead of tubular.

any news?

Eric

[ohekk]

Eric,

Indeed...you MAY have located the FIRST Excalibur JAC 427 Cobra
#193

I was told the second Excalibur Cobra was British racing Green

Both were built with a 351

The VIN may be deceptive as there was confusion at the Excalibur plant on the correct assigment of numbers in the early years of the most recent ownership at Excalibur.

Excalibur had 3 distinct owners with the most recent purchasing of the company in 1991.

Cobras were built from 1992-97

The JAC 427 Cobra was "Introduced" Oct 1993.

You are right; the early brochures show a Red Cobra...in fact the earliest brochure I have depicts a car VERY similar to a CR.

When I asked about any connection, The response is :"I don't know anything about that!" Hmmmm???

Several distinct changes were made over the course of production.

Early
Stamped A-Arms
Front Coil springs
15" Wheels
Ford 9'
Deck Mounted Fuel Filler
Bolt on backup lights
Bumperettes
Zippered Tonneau

Later
Tubular A-arms
Coil over shocks
16" wheels
Ford 8.8
Side Markers
Fender Mounted Fuel filler
3rd Brake light
Recessed backup lights
JAC 427 side emblems
Full Bumpers
GM style door handles
Excalibur heat/AC controls
labeled dash switch bezels
Reinforced Windshield posts
Highback seats
Optional Auto trans
Optional Hard top (3 sold)

Update:

Jack Mann in Florida recently sold his Cobra to another gentleman in Florida. (Clubcobra: Cobras for sale)

The "R&D" Cobra previously mentioned was recently sold and purchased by a gentleman here in the Milwaukee area. (He now has TWO!)

I believe I've located the LAST (completed) Cobra from the assembly line..

as well as LAST (uncompleted) Cobra from the assembly line,(after it was shut down) purchased locally, completed and presently for sale.

As mentioned earlier, the Excalibur plant is closed & for the most part cleaned out and empty.

Molds for both the Excalibur & Cobra as well as some of the fixtures are still there.(Some parts also)

The building is for sale

Gentlemen, I believe we own a piece of Automotive history
given the fact that Excalibur was identifed as a World Manufacturer by the Society of Automotive Engineers (S.A.E.)
that manufactured a limited production , turnkey, DOT approved and EPA compliant automobile sold with a 2 year Bumper to Bumper Warranty'.

Thanks everyone!
Keep looking...there's some yet unaccounted.

Tom

HEY GUYS,

I COULD SURE USE SOME HELP HERE.

I'M TRYING TO GET MY CARS BACK INTO SHAPE AND ON THE ROAD AFTER THE EXPPLOSION AND FIRE AT MY HOME LAST FALL. I'M TRYING TO GET ALL OF THE MECHANICAL "STUFF" DONE BEFORE SENDING THEM TO THE PAINT SHOP.

I'M GOING TO BE WORKING WITH MY MECHANIC ON THURSDAY - THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW - ON THE FRONT SUSPENSION.

DOES ANYONE HAVE THE FRONT END SPECS. MY CAR IS NUMBER SM 123070. ANY HELP WOULD SURE BE APPRECIATED.

ADDITIONALLY, I HAVE RECENTLY NOTICED A "THUMPING SOUND" (THERE'S A TECHNICAL TERM FOR YOU), THAT IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE SPEED OF THE CAR. I SAY SOUND BECAUSE IT IS NOT A VIBRATION. ALSO, BETWEEN 65 & 70 MPH THERE IS A "SHAKING" OF THE STEERING WHEEL WITH "VERY" SLIGHT VIBRATION IN THE WHEEL WHICH DISAPPEARS WITH ANY AMOUNT OF HAND PRESSURE ON THE WHEEL.

ANY THOUGHTS ON THE ABOVE WOULD SURELY BE APPRECIATED.

ESPECIALLY THE FRONT END ALIGNMENT SPECS AND ANY INFO ON THE ORIGIN OF THE FRONT SUSPENSION & STEERING.

THANKS, AND Y'ALL HAVE A REALLY GREAT DAY,

BLACKJACK

[cobraeric]

Hi Blackjack

I have VIN# SM123074 and the Specs of my car are just about identical to yours.

Since these cars seem to have a Mustang II compatible front end (I'd like to know who the supplier is, just in case they have to be replaced some day....) I use an alignment I found on a "Classic Roadsters" thread:

caster:3.75° +/- 0.5°
camber:3/8 degree +/- 1/8 degree
toe in: 0.03 to 0.06 (1/32in to 2/32in)

works just fine at all speed ranges.

Eric

HELLO ERIC,

THANKS VERY MUCH FOR THE INFO. I'LL USE YOUR NUMBERS TOMORROW WHEN I GET IT INTO THE SHOP.

THANKS, AGAIN AND Y'ALL HAVE A REALLY GREAT DAY,

BLACKJACK

[Aloys]

VIN 123124
Build March 1998
green
Compomotive
5.0l HO
Ownwer:U.D.- Germany

[computerworks]

On eBay, an original Excalibur Dealer poster -

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1097357118