Shell Valley Flaws

[misfit41]

Hi Guys,,
I am looking for feedback here,It seems the Shell cars dont get a lot of respect,,to tell the truth I never considered one for a abuild,,a lot because they do a crappy job with the catalog, it seems a lot more leg work to build their car,,I ran across a deal on one with a great power train,,the car sits well,,the stance is near perfect,and body lines are true to the original wide hip,much like an spf,the more I am aunder and in the car ,,the more I respect it,,very well built,{frame is a beast} things,,dash,seats,etcthose i can fix,
I guess my question is,,why does no one seem to like them as well as other cars ? I see era a alot,,I assumed they were simular to shell valley,,minus the irs rear,,which with 600+hp,and 295 steet slicks,I am best off without, but Era seems to have all the respect,,I have always thought factory five was tops,,if built with good sruff underneath,I mean the design the only new and modern one around,I dig the aluminum and un stressed body,and a car you can drive around with no body has to be strong,,btw,,I looked at a street beast,what JUNK
any way,,give me thoughts,,ditch my Shell valley r what ever,,
whats your take on this ? Tk

[cscott67]

Well............most would say that the ERA is as close to the original as you can get in a fiberglass replica. I have seen and ridden in a couple of Shell Valley cars and they do have a more correct looking body than some. I like my FFR for exactly the same reasons you mentioned. Just depends on what you want. You will not please everyone no matter what you buy. Scott

[Ron61]

TK,

I think the Shell cars are still suffering some from an old stigma of having weak frames a long time ago. I had a friend that bought one years ago and had a devil of a time getting it together because of mis-fiting parts and such. Then when he did it was a beautiful car but he couldn't go over 50 miles an hour in a straight line because the suspension was so screwed up. Mostly his fault. Then after a trip to Thunderhill it wouldn't handle just right so he took it to an alignment shop and the frame was tweaked. So he sold it. But the people running that business sold out to another one that redesigned the car from the frame up is my understanding and they are very good now. Hope this helps aleviate your doubts.

Ron

[misfit41]

thanks Ron,,
do you remember what year they sold out ?I also have drivability problems,,I am hoping a new tubeluar front will solve it,,the frame on this thing looks very adequate,,I hope at least,,
thanks,,Tim

[CSX 4039]

Originally posted by misfit41



I also have drivability problems

Unless you are a consummate car guy, buy something else. My friend bought a BMW at a great price. Found out later, bent frame. Unsuccessfully sued owner. Got stuck with car. Had to buy new tires every 5,000 miles. He regretted his great deal.
My opinion.

[misfit41]

thanks for the opinion,,but I disagree on this one,,we're basicly talking about a rectangular steel frame,,with a proven late model suspension ,,has to be a way to make it go straight down the road,,much different from a late model uniboby that has most likely been tweaked,,
thanks you ,,Tim

[HighPlainsDrifter]

Hi,
Terrible handling until I put a competition engingeering panhard bar on the rear, now it's great.
I would buy a Midstates in retrospct.
Perry.

[Jahred]

I think Shell Valley is pretty decent set up, especially for big block apps. And one of the few with a decent Kevlar option.

The frame is very solid. Mine runs very true. Traction is exceptional. Some of the finishing touches, like the steering wheel could use a little help, but I think new ownership has come along way......

Regarding the rear traction bar? What year chassis are you talknig about? Pretty pleased with how mine handles, though I have not messed with it much. The rear end seems pretty planted.

[Ron61]

Tim,

I don't remember the year they sold the business but I could probably look through my old Kit Car magazines and find it as they ran an article about the person that bought it. I think he already owned a kit car company in Texas or somewhere and he made the frames and stuff more to what he built. The one that friend of mine had was an early one and the frame was really weak. Hardly no cross support. Jahred could tell you more than I can as he has one and his is obviously one of the better ones after the frames were redesigned. That friend of mine's car was beautiful when he finally got it finished but he told me that they told him at the frame shop he could have tweaked that frame by just driving on a slant like up over the curb into his driveway. That was one of the reason's he sold it as he didn't think it was worth the money to put a new frame under it.

Ron

[Janusz]

Perry,

Please post a photo of your panhard rod installation. Was there anything else changed on your rear suspension except for adding the panhard rod (like reworking the triangulated rear setup)?

Thanks,

[misfit41]

thanks for all the response on this one,,I am still messing with the car,,I did do the jack thing,,it is pretty rigid,,boxed all over,,and well designed,I do think it should have some triangular bracing,,an X in front and maybe something oither than nothing behind the bulkhead area,,and cowl,,I may consider trying something like that,,
For now I am doing tubular arms in front with coil overs,,alignment,,and go from there,,I bought it because it has a new $16000.00 high rise 427,and I had enough 100's put away to pay for it,,so,,I am willing to try a few things,,
thanks,,tk

[HighPlainsDrifter]

Hi,
Sorry, I don't have a pic of the panhard rod. Standard setup, goes from drivers side lower rear shock to a pass side frame bracket hanging down from frame. bar is level with the weight on the wheels. The front of the lower control arms I had reinforced also, and welded in a lakewood driveshaft safety loop. The upper control arm brackets were welded on the 9" rear at the wrong angle, gave a 22 degree downwards pinion angle. I rewelded them for a 4 degree angle.The narrowed 9" rear was 1/2" out also. They had the rear shock mounts 2" too high, had new ones welded in. The list of other stuff wrong is quite dissapointing. Good thing I am able to correct these things or it would be alot of extra money at a shop. This was NOT a bolt together kit. I would not recommend it.
That said ,I enjoy the cobra now, took 4 years of sweat to build it.
Perry.

[misfit41]

My car has an alloy 4 link set up with coil overs in the rear ,,is this the standard set up ,,same as yours? thanks,,Tim