Ok now that you have had your Cobra what would you change

[Blas]

Very interesting write up. Congratulations on a job well done.
Blas

[t walgamuth]

I see your Cheetah is the same color as my VSE. Orange forever!

I always liked Cheetahs. I saw a real one up at the Elkhart lake historics about 15 years ago.

[Buzz]

Originally Posted by Blas

Very interesting write up. Congratulations on a job well done.
Blas

I concur! Very interesting, well written and presented article! Beautiful job on the build.

[Blas]

Road America (Elkhart Lake) often has an original or two in attendance. I believe a few years back they were featured and quite a few were in attendance.
By far the most extreme answer to what you would change on your cobra so far.
Blas

[Michael C Henry]

I just went through a saga with my replica. Last year I went about hiring a shop to get my broken windshield replaced and at the correct angle to accept a soft top and side curtains I had bought twenty years ago. My roll bar was higher than most and actually functional. When they raised the windshield up to the correct angle it ended up about two inches forward than original location. So a soft top would need to be altered. It turned out that taking the top apart and resewing was not an option. So The shop they hired built a whole new top. The new soft top was a success. but when they drilled the body for the bow ferrules the drill caught the pieces of frame under the top surface of the body. Ended up with oval hole and a ragged hole in the frame pieces that hold the door striker. The frame piece is a 1 1/2 foot of 1 1/2" light wall square tubing bent to follow the doors rear curve bolted from main frame on the floor and bolted to the wheel well housing. I made the mistake of trying to use gloss black Rust-Oleum spray paint on the square frame pieces. I got one side done and the weather changed and things went wrong and it took months to wind up. Tightening the ferrules was awkward. I trimmed the frames tops and repainted. The first went OK but the weather changed it got cloudy and became hard to see outside, It got cooler, the wind started, It started to rain on a regular basis. and the thin side wall clasped when tightening the striker bracket. It took months I epoxied the body holes and ground them back into round holes. I filled and laminated a large SS washer to the under side of both sides forming parallels surfaces to tighten the ferules in to. The holes through the wheel wheel were covered over with black duct tape. I removed the tires and wheel for access to the area. I thought while here I should lube everything. I was reminded that it was always incomplete because the outboard U-joint in both half shafts were wrong and not accessible. So the next hurdle. It turned out that when the original builder he installed the grease zerk while everything was apart. A straight zerk worked out great for the inboard U-joints but not the outboard half shaft U-joints were blocked by the protective bell of the uprights. I was reminded that this has probably been a problem since 1984. That became another chore. I had to separate the upright with it's wheel flange from the tip of the half shaft remove the wrong straight 1/4" x 28 tapered thread zerk and installed new 45° angled zerks. The new zerks make greasing the outboard half shaft U-joints much easier.
I want a second matching roll bar for the passenger side. I want to have new side curtains made that are longer to fit and have zipper access at both front and back. That is out there in my future.

[t walgamuth]

Good work!

[Chicagowil]

Originally Posted by 1985 CCX

Enjoy these cars as that is why we are on this site, the fun!
As my wife say's "its cheaper than a girlfriend...."

My Wife has always said "hanging out in bars or chasing women may be cheaper that this car habit of yours"!

Thom

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by Chicagowil

My Wife has always said "hanging out in bars or chasing women may be cheaper that this car habit of yours" !

Thom

Having experience with both divorce and cars I'd suggest a car habit is cheaper except for those who are paupers.

[Michael C Henry]

I remember a friend at work telling me about his brother back in Wisconsin. His brother was supposed to have said that it was time for a new boat or a girl friend. The wife promptly replied saying "let go look at some boats"

[Michael C Henry]

I'm moving the ignition switch. It is a keyed tumbler switch. Located low on left side of the dash board. So low, the keys dangle below the dash and get into my left thigh. I want to relocate to a higher position, but what to do with the old hole. The dash is black vinyl covered. What to do about the empty hole? The new location would leave the keys at or above the old empty hole. Ideas on patching or concealing the old hole?

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Michael C Henry

I'm moving the ignition switch. It is a keyed tumbler switch. Located low on left side of the dash board. So low, the keys dangle below the dash and get into my left thigh. I want to relocate to a higher position, but what to do with the old hole. The dash is black vinyl covered. What to do about the empty hole? The new location would leave the keys at or above the old empty hole. Ideas on patching or concealing the old hole?

Disconnect the ignition switch, but leave it there. Have your ignition controlled by a hidden switch and button under the dash. Added security. Or, have your ignition switch on a quick disconnect valet thingy so there are no hanging keys.

[KarlzEE Bebout]

There are push in plugs of various sizes that might do the job for you. black plastic or rubber would be barely noticeable or if you found a metal push in plug, the correct size, a little scuffing and then painting with a little satin finish black would also make a decent repair. I'll take a good look at a decent sized ACE or True Value Hardware store. Some very unusual items can be found in their bulk nut and bolt section.

[Snake2998]

Put a fake starter button in the hole.

[HTM101]

We purchased a Hi-Tech roller (built at that time by current CC member, TJD) in 1994 and still own it. Throughout ownership I have:

a. removed most of the excessive bling I had installed early on, and replaced that with satin black and brushed aluminum.

b. moved the battery from the trunk and replaced it with a pair of batteries placed behind the passenger seat.

c. installed a 42 gallon comp tank.

d. rebuilt and installed a pair of functional Stewart Warner 240A fuel pumps with dual fuel lines from the tank, to the mechanical fuel pump.

e. replaced the 15" steering wheel with a 16" split center Moto Lita wheel.

f. removed the original welded steel rear wheel uprights and replaced those with cast iron uprights/hubs as used in original Cobras.

g. replaced the original cast iron Toploader trans with a new David Kee aluminum case Toploader wide-ratio and big input shaft.

h. replaced the rear wall panel between the seats and trunk, with a new panel that includes the FIA bump-out.

[carmine]

I had problem with my MSD distributor so i ripped everything out and replaced with PROGRESSION IGNITION all in one Electronic Distributor.
No more MSD box.
No more bundle of wires to route.
Reads manifold vacuum.
Down load the app for your phone and change your map on the fly while driving.
Greatest thing since sliced bread.

Ps: I run 48 IDA Webers! ( all i can say is WOW)

https://progressionignition.com/

[cycleguy55]

I just purchased a pair of mirrors from Dreamcar Company. Terry responded immediately that he had material supply issues and was waiting for billet aluminum to arrive, and he kept me fully in the loop throughout. When the mirrors arrived they looked great.

The instructions were good, but because of the way my wind wings had been installed by a previous owner I couldn't follow the instructions as written and just swap the wind wings from passenger side to driver side. I had to completely diassemble the mounting blocks and wind wing brackets and then reassemble in a different fashion. The photos were extremely helpful as they showed clearly what the finished product would look like. When it was all done the mirrors fit perfectly and I'm ecstatic about their fit, finish and function.

Terry at DreamCar Co. was very helpful and was very prompt in responding to emails.

One of the best supplier experiences I've had in a long time. Highly recommended - both for the product but especially the service.

[novasscnc]

Nothing

[Michael C Henry]

For my dangling ignition keys, I found a small magnetic devise. It resembles a couple of copper clad bullets with hole in each for keyrings. The ignition key on one and the rest on the other. I separate the ignition key from the rest, insert the ignition key in the ignition switch and put the other wad of keys and fob, in my pocket. Now nothing dangles below the dash. No dangling keys swinging and bouncing and scuffing the dash.

[chucks1]

Up until last week my response would have been nothing, I like my SPF just as it is. Well, I did like it just as I bought it. As of this week I'll say that I would opt to change the starter to one that actually engages the flywheel. Maybe I'll make that dream come true tomorrow . . .

[1985 CCX]

Which one ????