New Arntz/Butler Forum

[Brent Mills]

Welcome and share all you can about your completed Cobra or project.

[65 Blur]

Thanks Brett.

[Fred Douglass]

...Hello to all the Arntz-addicts and Butler-boys! I may have some bits and pieces available by next week. I'm putting a new MGB front end in my Butler (as well as a new 408C built by Southern Automotive). Hope these two "steps up" work out. I lost my lift-time today when the garage owner went home sick. Should be ready by January or February!
In any case, I may have some quality rebuildable parts for sale. Ditto a set of new Vintique wheels with 235-60x15 and 275-50x15 BF Goodrich rubber. The 351C motor runs well, but might need some valve-train attention, the rest is either new (wheels and tires) or rebuildable (front axle).
I hope to check in "our" new site daily and maybe contribute or help other owners weekly! As I said to some of you directly and/or indirectly, my mechanical and computer skills both pale beside most of yours. What I do share (in equal amounts) with the rest of you is the joy of these little, solid, brutal Butler beasts!

[decooney]

Great going on the new forum addition for Butler/Arntz Cobras! I'm a huge fan of Butler/Arntz Cobras. I've helped work on two of them and making improvements over the last three years...

One of my good friends (Alan) here in the Sacramento CA area is just finishing up his 6+ month long upgrade to his engine, engine compartment, and accessories on his Butler Cobra. He basically had it under one year and then we started tearing the car apart almost immediately to begin major upgrades, starting with the engine. Alan's been extremely busy trying to get it ready for the August trip down to Monterey this year. I know he'll be real interested to keep in touch with you guys on this new forum once it's more completed and driveable again. He's been missing out on some nice drives lately, and anxious (almost frantic now) to get it running again. We installed the all new roller motor and trans last week. Re-wiring and some custom billet gadgets were installed today, and he hopes to have it running by this weekend. He fired the motor today... so far so good. We'll know more this weekend on how it all turns out. I think he's going to have more power than what he can use now, and with those slippery BFG 295s on back will make it interesting to say the least.

I originally found the car for him and (sort of pushed him to buy it) and try to keep track of what you Arntz/Butler owners are doing so I can continue to help Alan make other upgrades to his car. I think once winter sets in, and we have a few good drives completed, we'll be tearing out the jag/irs and possibly the front end, doing some maintenance, adding front/rear sway bars, and possibly converting the front end to a newer coilover setup... Just wanted to let you know about another fellow Butler/Arntz owner out that that's excited about his car. I can't wait to see how it all turns out this weekend with the new motor and all... Take care.

[Jamo]

So NOW there's a forum for these cars? Figures...

[RallySnake]

Thank you Brent,

I look forward to the day I can buy you a beer. You do good work.

Paul

[rdorman]

Front end update!

Bill Emerson has worked up a front end to replace the MG front. I have placed a post on the Emerson forum asking about the front end.

Don't forget about my Wilwood brake conversion! There are enough MGs on the road I could probably sell a bolt on kit.

If the Arntz Butler use the MG column like my car does look up my tech tip on changing the column over to caged needle bearings. Cheap, easy and what a difference!

Rick

[Photoguy]

Hi, just wanted to say hello and that I look forward to obtaining information on Arntz/Bulter Cobras. I just finished my engine upgrades and the car is back on the road. Alan, the Photoguy.

[decooney]

Photguy, I mean Alan... hey, you have an account on ClubCobra now! Good going.

I'm thinking there will be some Butler/Arntz Cobras down in Monterey this year at the Historics, and you guys can compare notes and upgrades on suspensions, wheels, tires, etc. now... Looks like you got that thing together just in time. See Ya there.

[65 Blur]

Good to have you on. Duane has been telling stories about you for some time. Now we get it 1st hand

If you are the Photoguy - 1st thing you need to do is get some posted of your car.

We will be in the coral at the historics on Sunday...hope to see you there.

[garystoyshop]

Hello everyone,

I'm a new member and I just purchased a fire damaged older AC Cobra car.

I need some body parts or a new body.

I looked at this web site and started reading about all the different car buildersand I needed to know who's car this was? I do like the looks of this body.

I took this one over to Gordon Levy in Phoenix Arizona to see if he could tell me who made this car? He told me that it is a Arntz car and by the VIN numbers it is an older car. He said that it is the 427 body on this car. With the MG frame and body molded together. It is a left hand steering. It has a frame ID tag on the firewall on the passengerside that states it was "Made in England" by MG with the VIN numbers starting with 67. Below that it has "ENG SIZE - 289 V-8". The title showed it had 71,000 miles on it.

I saw the exhaust on this car and I liked the looks of it because it is different. It is not cut into the body and out the side of the car. It has twin side pipe exhaust on each side under the body. Not like the 427 cars. It has the Headers like the 427's going into the side pipes, but these go under the car not on the out side of the car.

In the Carrol Shelby book they show a couple of cars in England racing that have this same style of exhaust on them.

I'm just getting started on this car and I need to find a lot of parts for sure.

Let me know what's out there and avaible please.

Thanks,

Gary

[RallySnake]

Gary,

Ron Butler took over from Steve Arntz and made the cars through the 80's and most of the 90's. He may have some parts for you. He's in Santa Barbara California, 805-649-6000.

Good Luck,
Paul

[badrich]

Brent: I think it is cool to have a site for these old, arcane machines. Which reminds me, how about a Forum for Contemporary Classics? Our Cobras (and owners) are just as funky as these. Rich

[garystoyshop]

Hello again,

Paul, Thanks for the information and phone number. I will can him and see what he has.

Thanks again,

Gary

[67snake]

hi i pretty sure i have a butler everyone says i do but i cant find the numbers its like its blank everywhere and noone can give a clear description on where it would be

[Photoguy]

Look under the Cobra, passenger seat location...........

[SoTxButler]

If you have a Butler, you will find a BRI xx-xxxx-xxx number under the driver's side front fender and on the frame rail near the most forward part of the frame rail. If you were to look through the opening on the front of the car (if you don't have screens), you could see the number. It will be on the flat part of the frame. The first 2 numbers represent the month of manufacture, the next four are the year it was built and the last 2 or 3 represent the actual number of manufacture. If there are only 8 numbers, the car was #99 or earlier and if the number has 9, it is #100 - 104.

I don't know much about the Arntz cars, but I understand that a number appears under the drivers seat.

Search this forum and you will find much discussion about the serial numbers.

Hope this helps

[n6opv]

67snake,

If you have a Butler, you won't find anything under the seat, only where Russ states. All the Butler cars have a complete frame number here. If you have one of the 60 frames Butler built for Arntz, you should have just a number (1-60) in this same area, although it may be on the top of the frame piece instead of the side and therefore harder to see through that front opening.

If you put some pictures in your gallery (especially from underneath), we can help you even more! And search the Arntz / Butler forums here; there's alot of info to help you, including everything we've just said...

Keep us posted,

Jason

[RallySnake]

I have an early Arntz Cobra. It had a number 6 lightly punched into the frame near the front on the driver's side. After I put a few coats of POR15 on it, you could not see the number anymore. When I had the car inspected at the CHP office, I told them about the number but we could not find it. There are no other numbers on the frame or body. The CHP officer put the plate on the door jam.

[SoTxButler]

Well, you have an Arntz with a Butler frame. Jason can jump in here, but I think there were Arntz cars before Ron Butler built frames for Steve. I may be wrong.

If so, there were Arntz cars, then new frames were sourced from Butler and you have #6 and that is good.