New Member From Melbourne

[OZCOBRA]

......BUT Craig what would be the acceptable deflection for a uni to work and cope with the a consitent binding movement??Are we not thinking too much towards the extreme end of the what-ifs...really with the live axle just how much movement are we going to have in the real world,surely it's not as if we are going to have 6''/8'' of travel consistently whilst under load ...don't you think the actual travel will be more likely to be 2''/3''.....in any case so we're changing uni's every 20000k's as a preventative measure instead of 100000 that in itself is a good thing is it not ,considering the number of cobra owners that neglect this little item until it destroys its self when you least want it to happen in the middle of nowhere or the track...!!!......I'm just exploring options and Mikes suggestions he is of the opinion it's not a real issue sure it's there....... BUT..??

[Aussie Mike]

The T56 is a very long gearbox. I measured mine a while back and it was about 850mm from the output shaft to the face where it bolts to the engine. The tailshaft will work out to be about 17" long but that may vary depending on what your engine setback is. I would have some real concerns with having a live axle behind such a short tail shaft unless you can limit your suspension travel. IRS is definitely the go.

The price on the box seems OK if it has the ford patern bellhousing. Holden and Chev ones are more common but not easily adapted to the Ford motor. I paid $2800 for mine S/H and a friend just picked one up for about $3500 for his but it included clutch and flywheel.

What is the part number on the box? It's stamped on a little aluminium tag held under one of the extension housing bolts. There are quite a few different torque ratings for these boxes. You can reference your part number on the TTC Webpage and find out which one you have (unless it was a preproduction "special build" like mine was ).

Cheers

[OZCOBRA]

Mike,... the rear end is a live and i'm sticking with it seeing that i cut the rear end off teh chassis that supported the Jag IRS.....

The T56 is brand new at $AU4100 with a Ford bolt pattern,as for part n/o ??

Really though mike i'm just getting opinions because the Holinger 5spd is the next move if i can't find a box to that is cheaper and that will do the job with the same reliabilty for street and race.

What do you believe to be an appropriate length tailshaft to support the live axle in the cobra????Regards Paul

[750hp]

Originally posted by OZCOBRA


......BUT Craig what would be the acceptable deflection for a uni to work and cope with the a consitent binding movement??Are we not thinking too much towards the extreme end of the what-ifs...really with the live axle just how much movement are we going to have in the real world,surely it's not as if we are going to have 6''/8'' of travel consistently whilst under load ...don't you think the actual travel will be more likely to be 2''/3''.....in any case so we're changing uni's every 20000k's as a preventative measure instead of 100000 that in itself is a good thing is it not ,considering the number of cobra owners that neglect this little item until it destroys its self when you least want it to happen in the middle of nowhere or the track...!!!......I'm just exploring options and Mikes suggestions he is of the opinion it's not a real issue sure it's there....... BUT..??

There seem to be a lot of "red buts" appearing on this topic.....

The main thing that I suppose I'm concerned about with a short tailshaft is what angle the unis will be at just driving down the road. If your engine is tilted back at a reasonable angle, you'll need to adjust the pinion angle to more or less the same angle. Most guys seem to prefer having the crank centreline and the pinion sitting 1 degree from parallel (pinion down). This will increase the angle of the unis.

Regarding their service life, I must agree with you. If you just check them periodically and replace them as necessary, maybe it wouldn't be a problem.
I have a similar deal with my car - if the suspenion is fully compressed, the left tyre can touch the supercharger when it's at full steering lock. This isn't really a concern though, because if I'm ever in the situation that I'm at high speed with the suspension fully compressed AND on full steering lock, I have a whole lot more to worry about than rubbing a little mark on the blower housing

I still like the idea of the Holinger though!!!

[OZCOBRA]

Craig the red butts will certainly continue if i don't go the holinger and go with something else and then it chernobyls somebodies butt will be RED..!! I'm still keen on the Holinger but the old bank balance won't like it a great deal.!!!

[750hp]

Another option out fo left field.....
http://www.gforcetransmissions.com/tran_gt-5.asp

Broken T5s are almost a badge of honour for the Qld Cobra guys. They really are a fragile trans, and I've seen 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears let go. When my 3rd gear let go, it took the cluster gear with it. I simply rolled on the throttle when it happened. I'm sure you could pick up a cheap broken T5 around the place.

Mike Long is a really good guy to talk to. He owns G Force, and REALLY knows his stuff. I wish I had the $$$ to have bought a new G Force trans a few months back, but I'm now accepting the fact that my car really does need the Glide that's currently in it. The T5 kit apparently sells for under $1,000-US, and I just bet he'd knock 10 or 20% off that for a customer or two "Down Under".

[BMK]

Good reading your notes guys.

I will be keen to catch up with Mike Moore at Calder when he does the test day.

I spoke with him on the Thursday when I was at McDonald Bros. Racing.

He is obviously making good progress with the cobra. If it is anything like the Xtreme 7 roadster it should be a good car.

Having Mikes old motor and running gear (the 351 strocker) I keep in close contact with Mike.

McDonald Bros. Racing have built an idependant front end with tube lower arms and Jag. upper arms with bump stop ground off etc.

Using the Commodore big discs on front.

Have also put Commodore ends on the Ford 9" so will have big Commodore discs brakes on all corners. Just another McDonald Bros. Racing idea that really looks good and appears to work.

I have considered running Harrop discs and calipers but the general thought is the Commodore ones are more than adequate for street and limited track use.

Will make sure the body is well screwed down to the chassis as I dont want it being left behind - sorry Mike!!!


Cheers


Bernie

[Aussie Mike]

Originally posted by OZCOBRA


Mike,... the rear end is a live and i'm sticking with it seeing that i cut the rear end off teh chassis that supported the Jag IRS.....

The T56 is brand new at $AU4100 with a Ford bolt pattern,as for part n/o ??

Really though mike i'm just getting opinions because the Holinger 5spd is the next move if i can't find a box to that is cheaper and that will do the job with the same reliabilty for street and race.

What do you believe to be an appropriate length tailshaft to support the live axle in the cobra????Regards Paul

I don't know really but I'm always over engineering everthing I make anyway. I guess it would probably be OK if you checked your unis regularly like Craig says. Some of the 4x4 guys run some pretty extreme angles on their drive shafts so they can probably take it. I would definitely be running a good tailshaft loop though.

Cheers

[BMK]

Hey just looking around and found you guys.

Will need to come cruising with you when my car is finished.

Hell what the big deal they are only points and I haven't had a ticket for a while!!

I plan to drive to melbourne and drive/cruise back to Mt. Gambier if we do it again.

"Weekend at Bernie's" its already been named. Just need to come up with some dates.

Keep cruising I am envious!!


Bernie Knight

[ac andy]

Hey Paul, i thought only zoo monkeys had red butts! I think my tailshaft is only about 400mm long. The bullnose toploader has a very long casing as well.

Andy.