Who has the most serious cornering ride on the forum?

[deckofficer]

Richard,

What is your assessment of the '98 JBL? I have tracked down Paul Eckebrecht's car from Idaho. It is now in Pennsylvania with it's new owner who is looking to sell it.

[Richard Hudgins]

Originally Posted by Bill E

Richard this is something I have been working for the larger cars. It has gull wings for the larger guys to get in and out. Tt has a hatch back for lugged. Up to now there has not been a hard to available for the bigger cars. that was actually functional. I realize that it is not every ones cup of tee but I an surprised by the response so far. This thing is lockable and removable in about 8 minuets. A good option for croscontry

Hi Bill,

Very interesting looking top. The gullwing design certainly makes a lot of sense.

One thing that may be a problem is the lateral curve of the body. The JBL is quite different than any of the cars out there as the curve radii is pretty flat and the distance from door inner to door inner is also 4>5 inches wider.

I will forward this to Larry G. so he can show it to prospective JBL folks. If I were to have a JBL I would certainly wish a proper hard top like this.
.

[Richard Hudgins]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

Richard,

What is your assessment of the '98 JBL? I have tracked down Paul Eckebrecht's car from Idaho. It is now in Pennsylvania with it's new owner who is looking to sell it.

That car is one of the earliest LWB cars. It has the forged steel front uprights and cast rockers. The geometry is virtually the same as the current chassis except for the steering. The Ford uprights produce a little bit of toe in on dive that the JBL design units do not. This is not really a bad thing as it does add some stability under braking and you can run more toe out for track use which really improves turn in.

The anti roll bar blades are manual adjustment (still cockpit adjustable) as opposed to the current electronic control.

I do not know if the rear calipers and rotors ever got updated from the floating design Ford stuff to the wilwood components that have been standard since the first few LWB cars.

It is virtually the same chassis as Chuck Millers car and that car was not bad at Willow Springs or at Vegas either. It just needed the updated rear brakes to obtain a proper bias balance. When I drove the car at Vegas I could not get enough rear into it and this was mostly due to not being able to get a rear pad pad with the correct COF to match the fronts.

The brakes were good mind you, but just not up the standard that I expect for this chassis. But it does give you a parking brake with the Ford stuff and that is why that chassis went out that way. (I had not yet designed the JBL handbrake system like the one on Mark B's car and others.)

And this is just about all I know about this car. Larry G. may have more info as he was the constructor of this vehicle.

[deckofficer]

Richard,

Did Larry G. build the car for Paul or was Paul the 2nd owner?

[Richard Hudgins]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

Richard,

Did Larry G. build the car for Paul or was Paul the 2nd owner?

I think Paul was the third owner. Have ask Larry G.

[deckofficer]

Thanks Richard,

I guess I would be the 5th if the latest owner and I reach a price. The T I bought from the original owner/builder. He spent 32 years as a special effects technician for the studios and owned it for 14 years. We, over the years have developed a great friendship, and he kept and passed on to me all reciepts for the build, updates, and maintinance. I wish I could find another connection like that for this Cobra rep purchase.

[john chesnut]

I always have been impressed with the JBL.
As far as a combination of track and road car, I believe that my self built Cobra would hold it's own against virtually any other one. (Maybe not with me driving!!)
I built a steel and aluminum space frame, used C5 Corvette aluminum double wishbone suspension front and back,and the C5 brakes, wheels and tires. I converted the C5 aluminum diff into taking a driveshaft, am running an LS6 Vette engine with a T56 6speed. The car gets over 30mpg, is fast enough for me, is as reliable and serviceable as the Vette. I took it for a nice drive today! This set up would work great with a Ford engine too!!!!!

I also built an all aluminum chassis with C5 parts and put on my own model T inspired body on it. Now, that car is a rocket! It has the stock C5 track and wheel base with 54% rear weight, and a total weight of under 1900lbs. This is the best handling car that I have ever driven.

I have fun with my cars and am starting a new project. A kellison J5 coupe with my chassis design and C5 drivetrain.

Have fun! John

[deckofficer]

I'm not changing my mind about a Cobra, but at the Run and Gun, how does the blown V6 Super Stalker stack up? It is about 900 lbs lighter.

[Bill E]

Richard the widths are the same on our cars.

[decooney]

If you are truly serious about a JBL, you might send a PM to JMarsey.

John has a dedicated FFR track car and a JBL.

Its not for sale, but ya never know...If someone had a LOT of extra cash lying around, looking for a true masterpiece and engineering work of art, John's JBL is not only one of the nicest JBLs you will ever see anywhere, but I think its possibly one of the nicest custom hand-crafted Cobras on the planet IMO. A lot thought, time, and attention to detail went into the BOSSJBL.

[Bill E]

Check out my gallery it is something we do better than most.