Another Pace427 heading to Vic

[albanycobra]

It still astounds me how good these things look.
Pace have certainly changed the game forever.

It's great to be part of a new era in Cobra production, very exciting.

[Jaydee]

I think the market will be full of second hand Cobra's. So they can upgrade to a Pace. Even Carroll Shelby would be impressed.
JD

[guye]

So yesterday I got a little help from some friends - thanks Paintwerks (Sime), Cameron, Josh, d488y2 (Darryl), Peter, Ben, and Travis.

We fitted the body! Yay! I was waiting to get the headers so I could do the exhaust first but I'm not sure when that will be so I've decided to work on the body bits now. It might mean I'll need to remove it again which is inefficient, but hopefully not. We'll see.

Before.



After.





All the action.



Some action shots.

[deano59]

and this my friends is why i will be sending my car to a auto sparky when the time comes anymore than 3 wires and im screwed lol..

[Zacson]

Originally Posted by deano59

and this my friends is why i will be sending my car to a auto sparky when the time comes anymore than 3 wires and im screwed lol..

Yep! I've spent too many hours over the years wiring cars to do another one.

[stephen low]

Though I am still not enamoured by the cantilever front suspension in the Pace, I continue to remain very impressed by the quality of those glass bodies.

And that dark blue you've picked Guy looks a treat. Well done.

Keep on posting those build pics.

Cheers

Steve

[gjkrv8]

Originally Posted by stephen low

And that dark blue you've picked Guy looks a treat. Well done.

You mean "Burple"

(Sorry Guy I couldn't resist)

[Aussie Mike]

Originally Posted by gjkrv8

You mean "Burple"

(Sorry Guy I couldn't resist)

Gav has got the Bunnings sponsored car. I reckon Guy's is the Cadbury sponsored car.

[Jaydee]

It's nice that all the holes for exhaust, bumpers etc are predrilled. So scary drilling for front bumpers. If you chip the gell coat, can you fix it? If you don't paint the car.
JD

[Paintwerks]

Originally Posted by Jaydee

It's nice that all the holes for exhaust, bumpers etc are predrilled. So scary drilling for front bumpers. If you chip the gell coat, can you fix it? If you don't paint the car.
JD

JD, Pace offer the cutouts in two optional 'extra cost' stages. The first stage is just the markings for the cutouts themselves. The second stage is for Pace to perform the cutouts as well. I ordered the first stage but wish I had ordered the second stage too!

Every orifice on the Pace with the exception of the side pipe opening on both sides is covered/surrounded by either a rubber grommet or a stainless steel finishing disc or plate. So it’s not an issue if you chip the hole slightly even if you are not planning on painting the body.

[deano59]

i paid the extra to have the holes drilled in mine esp for the twin rollbars as i didnt want to scew it up i remember drilling the holes in my first cobra with no templates was scary enough ..

[guye]

True that re holes. I got them all drilled except the bumpers cause I haven't decided if I want them yet. I don't need them for rego.

I'm confident I can drill them when/if required, with no or minimal chipping, and as Sime says these hole have grommets that will cover some evils.

Now, I'm off to get a glass and half of full cream milk

[Jaydee]

The best way to drill fibreglass is to drill in reverse. It stops it biting in. I used to fit out skiboats and I use to measure precisely for squareness, then my foreman says, if it looks square then that's all that matters.
JD

[boxhead]

This is a genuine Cadbury Coupe.
I tried to buy this one a few years ago but was too slow on the cash.
I have since bought another 1 of them.
There was only ever 3 made.
Special ordered from Cadbury Chocolates in 1971, They ordered 3 at the end of VG model run, CAL built 3 as SOA (Special Order Accepted) all in Silver Mauve Metalic) (Purple).
They are in fact the last 3 off the production line.
1 went to Adelaide, 1 went to Melbourne, 1 went to Sydney, they where given as a bonus to highest selling rep in each state.
The one pictured is the Sydney car (I think last one off line) and is the one I tried to buy, The one I have I am pretty sure is the Adelaide car (still trying to confirm, as I can so far only trace it back as far as a Canberra owner).

Originally Posted by Aussie Mike

Gav has got the Bunnings sponsored car. I reckon Guy's is the Cadbury sponsored car.

[dave295]

Originally Posted by Jaydee

The best way to drill fibreglass is to drill in reverse. It stops it biting in.
JD

Neat trick JD. I'll be trying that.
Does it matter how you hold your tongue when drilling, and, do you have to put your beer down first ?

Cheers
Dave

[leroy17]

No and preferably.

[Jaydee]

It's hard to hold your tongue as the drill bites into the fibreglass and chips in a vital spot. Like the other day I raised the hoist and forgot to close the bonnet and it hit the roof.
JD

[guye]

Originally Posted by boxhead

This is a genuine Cadbury Coupe...in Silver Mauve Metalic) (Purple)...

Thanks Dave. See Gregg, nothing like the colour of my cobra!

[guye]

Lots of small jobs getting done. Not lots of visible things though.

Connected to up the sound system (I know I know - but I can listen to it while at car shows, idling in traffic or cruising slowly behind Gregg on the race track, etc.). I installed a new model of a very small Alpine amp that fits behind the dash, along with a Parrot MKi9200 that allows me to connect iPods, USB sticks, etc. It also allows direct play via Bluetooth. Well I am a computer nerd after all...

Also I'm sure Pace HQ is going to like what I've done with the little removable display. Like that background Wazza and Craig?



Took all the suspension apart again and adjusted the tracking out front and rear to a) give me adequate clearance at full lock on the front from the inside chassis panels, and b) move the rear tyres out a bit to better fill the wheel arch.

This pic shows one of the a-arms out for adjustment. Just needed to screw out the rod ends and rose joints a little bit.



Organised (with Sime/Paintwerks) for our exhaust to be made. Going stainless all the way. Should be ready in a couple of weeks time.

The upholstery is already being done by Tony out at Sports and Classic in Eltham. He's doing my door trims, dashboard seats for now. Will worry about the carpet a bit later once I've sorted everything else.

Interim dash progress in this pic. (The crease is not permanent - it was resting on something just before I got there, but it went after a minute).




In the meantime I've been pretending I know something about bodywork. I've been sanding the mould seams down using 1200 then 2000 wet and dry, then buffing with my new friend the sander/polisher. Decided to get a decent size unit with variable speed after advice from my various car painter expert friends.

The result is certainly not show quality, and the gelcoat unfortunately wasn't thick enough in some areas, but it looks ok from a short distance I think. Ideally you really need to block the whole body and buff it. Eventually I will probably paint it anyway.


Seams before.



Blocking the seams away.



Part way through the process.



After the cutting using compound and wool buff pad on the rotary polisher. (The white spots are just drips, not damage.)

[d488y2]

Awesome work Guy