Hi.

[Gaz64]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

Nothing much done this week or last. I had cataract surgery last wed. and will do the other eye today. Lots of thinking.

In my receipts from the PO there is a receipt for raising the car 1" on its suspension "to improve streetability" or some such. The truth, I believe, is that it was raised to keep it off the tires because they stick out too far. So I am looking for wheels with more backspacing so I can lower the car and the tires will tuck up inside the fender like they should.

The problem is finding wheels that fit 5 on 5" bolt patterns that will carry the tires and not be too heavy. I found some lovely wheels but they are for 5 on 4.75" bolt patterns.

I may have the studs relocated in the hub to fit the 5 on 4.75" pattern that is common with Corvettes of certain years and look to have backsets which will be an improvment to what I have.

I also noted that the lower a arms on front are not parallel to the ground. I believe I'll have to relocate the front down so they will be parallel.

The rear I am trying to figure out but I think lowering it will settle the car too.

Why do they "need" to be parallel?

They may be closer to parallel to the ground when you lower it after the wheel swap.

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

Nothing much done this week or last. I had cataract surgery last wed. and will do the other eye today. Lots of thinking.

In my receipts from the PO there is a receipt for raising the car 1" on its suspension "to improve streetability" or some such. The truth, I believe, is that it was raised to keep it off the tires because they stick out too far. So I am looking for wheels with more backspacing so I can lower the car and the tires will tuck up inside the fender like they should.

The problem is finding wheels that fit 5 on 5" bolt patterns that will carry the tires and not be too heavy. I found some lovely wheels but they are for 5 on 4.75" bolt patterns.

I may have the studs relocated in the hub to fit the 5 on 4.75" pattern that is common with Corvettes of certain years and look to have backsets which will be an improvment to what I have.

I also noted that the lower a arms on front are not parallel to the ground. I believe I'll have to relocate the front down so they will be parallel.

The rear I am trying to figure out but I think lowering it will settle the car too.

American Racing has a Custom Shop and their VN407 wheel is designed for Cobras - though not faithful to the Halibrand design: Our Custom Shop is a state of the art custom wheel building facility located in Southern California. We have all the capabilities to practically build any custom wheel you can dream up. Custom forged, specialty two-piece fitments, unique finishes and colors, drill-from-blank services.http://www.americanracing.com/customShop.cfm


Vintage Wheels has a variety of bolt-on and pin-drive wheels to fit 5 x 5.0" bolt circle, and they'll make them with custom offsets, and it seems they offer the AR wheels above, along with others. Vintage Wheels, Mustang, Hot Rod and Muscle Car


As to whether your control arms are parallel to the ground, as soon as you're in compression or rebound that's all going to change anyway. For autocross and other track use I'd focus on ride height and corner balancing as a higher priority than control arm parallelism. Don't forget to get a full alignment once you've set the ride height and corner-balanced the car.

[t walgamuth]

Originally Posted by cycleguy55

American Racing has a Custom Shop and their VN407 wheel is designed for Cobras - though not faithful to the Halibrand design: Our Custom Shop is a state of the art custom wheel building facility located in Southern California. We have all the capabilities to practically build any custom wheel you can dream up. Custom forged, specialty two-piece fitments, unique finishes and colors, drill-from-blank services.http://www.americanracing.com/customShop.cfm


Vintage Wheels has a variety of bolt-on and pin-drive wheels to fit 5 x 5.0" bolt circle, and they'll make them with custom offsets, and it seems they offer the AR wheels above, along with others. Vintage Wheels, Mustang, Hot Rod and Muscle Car


As to whether your control arms are parallel to the ground, as soon as you're in compression or rebound that's all going to change anyway. For autocross and other track use I'd focus on ride height and corner balancing as a higher priority than control arm parallelism. Don't forget to get a full alignment once you've set the ride height and corner-balanced the car.

Thanks Brian! I'll check out those two sites. I corner weighed the car first thing. It is very close to a perfect 50/50 weight distribution.

[t walgamuth]

Originally Posted by Gaz64

Why do they "need" to be parallel?

They may be closer to parallel to the ground when you lower it after the wheel swap.

Exactly.

[t walgamuth]

Here are the two pictures I took at Winchester Speedway.

[t walgamuth]

Today I took the Cobra over to my favorite fabricator, the maistro of metal, Michael LeVeque. He fixed the cracked wheel for me. I plan to put slicks on those wheels if it looks like I can lower the car and fit over the tires.

While there a friend of his came over and looked the car over and offered me more than I paid for it. I said I wasn't nearly tired of it yet but thanks for the offer!

He liked the aluminum chassis and the orange paint...oh well what the heck he liked it all!

[t walgamuth]

Today I discovered my 16" compomotive wheels take skinnier lug nuts than my 17"(compomotive knock offs?). So I am looking for lugs with a slender barrel and nut with flat washer. The threads are quite hefty.

Anybody with a source for them?

[t walgamuth]

I figured out the correct lug nuts I hope and ordered them. Today worked on getting the 16" compomotives to slide on the studs smoothly.

[t walgamuth]

Got the nuts now. In looking at the repaired wheel I found a bent place. Took it to my tire guy and he said it would not work that way.

Now I am talking with a fellow in texas who has some compomotive wheels for sale which I may be able to use the rim from.

[t walgamuth]

Today I scoped out my suspension ride height. I believe with the original rims on the car I can drop it at least 2" in front and 3" in back. I believe my car is higher than standard ride height at present based on various dimensions shown here of fender lip to ground and headlight to ground.

So I ordered some spring perch adjusters.

[t walgamuth]

The Cobra is now sitting on its original wheels with Hoosier slicks on it. It is lowered down and has about 3" clearance now. It looks tough. I'll post pics tomorrow.

I took it to Veldman's in So Bend, my nephew in law Todd's family business. their man Bill took to the oddball Cobra like a duck to water. He checked the thrust torque angle...perfect....lowered the coil overs, installed the 16" original wheels, and did a bang up alignment. It now has 1 degree negative camber, 4 degrees castor, 1/8" toe in. The rear solid axle has a half degree negative camber both sides.

Wooo hOooo!

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

The Cobra is now sitting on its original wheels with Hoosier slicks on it. It is lowered down and has about 3" clearance now. It looks tough. I'll post pics tomorrow.

I took it to Veldman's in So Bend, my nephew in law Todd's family business. their man Bill took to the oddball Cobra like a duck to water. He checked the thrust torque angle...perfect....lowered the coil overs, installed the 16" original wheels, and did a bang up alignment. It now has 1 degree negative camber, 4 degrees castor, 1/8" toe in. The rear solid axle has a half degree negative camber both sides.

Wooo hOooo!

3" ground clearance? Watch out for speed bumps! LOL

[t walgamuth]

yeah, its probably more like 4" but it was 6.5" before.

[t walgamuth]

The lowest point is less than 4" now. Looks very nice! I'm planning to autocross on Sunday so we'll see if the tires rub the fenders!

Woo hoo!

[t walgamuth]

I ran at Grissom today. Good grippy concrete. the car turns well but occasionally for no particular reason the rear will come out on a corner....perhaps too much rear brake. The car developed a lean condition after 180 degree corners so I'll have to do something with the carb or possibly go to throttle body injection.

I got a lot of interest in the little orange cobra. People love the color and the hunkered down aggressive look of it.

[1795]

Where is/are your pickup(s) in the fuel tank/cell? How much fuel are you running? In a hard corner with a moderate to low level of fuel you could be sloshing the fuel to one side and briefly sucking air into the pickup and that could be contributing to the lean mixture on cornering.

The rear-end sliding out could be secondary to brake bias, or you might need just a little more weight in the rear. Just a couple of thoughts.

[t walgamuth]

It is a fuel cell I believe, and it was full when we started running. On my last run they said I was spilling fuel. A fellow from the club looked and said he thought it was coming from my overflow....?

Its 50/50 on weight with a half tank so with a full tank it should be about 30# heavier in back.

I think when you have too much brake in back you'll break traction while braking for the corner and not realize it until you start to turn and then it just comes on around.

Thanks for your thoughts!

[Gaz64]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

I ran at Grissom today. Good grippy concrete. the car turns well but occasionally for no particular reason the rear will come out on a corner....perhaps too much rear brake. The car developed a lean condition after 180 degree corners so I'll have to do something with the carb or possibly go to throttle body injection.

I got a lot of interest in the little orange cobra. People love the color and the hunkered down aggressive look of it.

Sounds like you need some "Road Race" floats.

[t walgamuth]

I'll see if they are available.

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

I ran at Grissom today. Good grippy concrete. the car turns well but occasionally for no particular reason the rear will come out on a corner....perhaps too much rear brake. The car developed a lean condition after 180 degree corners so I'll have to do something with the carb or possibly go to throttle body injection.

I got a lot of interest in the little orange cobra. People love the color and the hunkered down aggressive look of it.

Disclosure: No personal experience with Edelbrock carbs. Regardless, here's some stuff I ran across at https://www.stangnet.com/mustang-for...llenge.645605/ :


"My stock 289 stumbles/bogs coming out of hard turns in autocorss. I assume that the Edelbrock 500cfm (don't know model # but it is their most basic model) is not really a "race" carb and is not supplying fuel due to fuel slosh at the float/bowl."

"Not sure, but in the hours of research I've had to do on edelbrock carbs I have come across 4wheelers mentioning problems with fuel slosh.
Off-Road Needles and Seats (pair) #1465
Includes a pair of spring loaded needles and .0935" seats."


"That off road kit worked for me. It was a couple years ago that I had problems, I called Edlebrock and they sent me one N/C (carb was only a couple weeks old then) No problems since although I rarely drive it."

"That said, everyone I run with who autocrosses runs Holleys. Part of the Edelbrock's problem with turning is that the floats pivot fore/aft not side to side. I believe that a Holley with center pivot floats takes care of this problem.

An Edelbrock is a fantastic street carb, and you can go pretty quick at the drag strip, but throw hard turning at it and it's not the ideal choice."


The net of this is it MAY be possible to fix the problem with the Off-Road kit.




From https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ock-carbs.html :


"the edelbrock carbs are a good carb (under 650 cfm) for a mild performance engine unless you like to go around corners hard, the design of the fuel bowl and the jet placement cause the fuel to wash away from the jets on one side of the carburetor if you corner hard in one direction and if you turn the other way the jets on the other side will have the same problem."