Had a great week end

[Aussie Mike]

I had an excellent weekend. Started out early Saturday morning with a trip to the recycling center in Melton to get rid of a truck load of junk that had been cluttering up my workshop. I've probably got another couple of truckloads of junk that I should throw out but it's hard to let go when you are always thinking "I'll find a use for that knackered Mazda RX3 water pump one day".

Melton is also the home of Di Filippo Engineering and was my next port of call. DI Filippo make some very nice headders and exhaust systems and have some huge mandrel bending machines. Darren is an extremely helpful guy with good advice and suggestions. I've discussed my ideas for the Cobra exhaust on several occasions. We settled on 1 7/8" primaries and 3 1/2" collectors and Darren put together a DIY header kit for me. The kit has is about 30x 90 and 45 degree mandrel bends, laser cut header plates, preformed 4-1 collectors and gaskets (all for only $385). Darren is also sourcing some 3" and 5" radius bends to make some nice looking side pipes.

Arrived home with a large box of exhaust bits under my arm and went to the shed. Time for the body to come off the Cobra again so I rigged up the engine lifting crane and got Mark, my neighbour to give me a hand to lift it off. Mark is a Cobra convert and is always keen to give me a hand. So with the body off and it was time to drop the engine and trans into the chassis. I have to say finally having the engine and trans sitting where it's supposed to be was a big moment. It'll probably be in and out a few times yet but seeing it there for the first time was just too cool.

The shed is a bit more child friendly now that I'v had a big clean up. I had my 2 1/2 year old Daughter Lauren sitting on my knee while I sat on the chassis and we shifted gears and made broom broom noises together. You have got to start them young if you want them to grow up to be petrol heads.

Sunday saw me getting breakfast in bed from my lovely wife (I think I'll keep this one). Lauren and I watched some kids DVDs together (I can just about recite every Bananas in Pajamas episode now) and then later I snuck out to the shed.

Time to start cutting up some bends and taping them together to make a header shaped sculpture. It's like a 3 dimensional jigsaw puzzle where you decide what shape the pieces should be to make the final picture. I have to say this is fun to do, especially with the body off as the skinned knuckle factor is significantly reduced.

I had to run some errands in the afternoon but later on Garrett (justbetter) came over and we went for a spin in his blown LS1 Superformance. Awesome, simply awesome. There's nothing like a sidepipe equiped blast in the countryside to renew you Cobra building enthusiasm, Thanks Garrett.

My wife and daughter got home from shopping and Lily said Lauren saw Garrett's Cobra in the drive and imediately points and says Cobwa! Cobwa! 2 1/2 years old and she can pick them already them, makes me so proud

Sunday evening sees me fabricating a rear gearbox mount and crossmember using nome nolathane suspension bushes. It's a bit of a tight squeeze under the back of a T56 in a Classic Revial so some creative thinking is in order. Should have the crossmember finished this week and I can drop the body back on and check the header clearance.

Hope your weekend was as enjoyable as mine.

Cheers

[REPTYL]

My weekend was heaps better (NOT!)

Two 12 hour nightshifts pushing keys on this ****ty keyboard.

But I bet my next 5 days will be better than yours, (Rostered week off time

It was great to hear all you got up to on the weekend; it brings back memories of the REPTYL at the same stage back in 98.

Not the flashiest by any means.
She was an ugly baby but see grew up cute.

[Aussie Mike]

Jason,

I would love some rostered off time right now! It's Monday and reality is setting back in

Don't know about Ugly, Your baby looks just fine to me. A sturdy looking chassis. With that cross member right in front of the motor how do you go pulling it out to work on it? Is the front cross member removable? It doesn't look like you would lose too much boot space with that LPG tank either.

Here is a couple of pics of the LS1 Powered Go Kart.





Cheers

[750hp]

Mike - thanks for the story! Don't you love it when you can look back at the weekend and see solid, stress-free progress on the car. The fact that the family gets into it as well is an added bonus.

The gokart shots look good. One word of warning - don't let OZVENOM near your red calipers. I "riced" mine up with some VHT caliper paint, and I didn't hear the end of it for ages. I spilt some brake fluid on them, and the red paint bubbled off my Wilwoods. I think if I let him at my car one day, he might just give my calipers a nice bath in brake fluid to finish the job.....

Your header design looks like they came straight out of a custom exhaust shop. With shops charging $1000+ for headers these days, you've saved yourself some sizeable cash! I thought Darren might try to steer you towards his Top Fuel header design. 8 bits of straight tube - big diameter. 8 x 90 degree bends. Job's done!!!

[Aussie Mike]

Craig, Were you peeking in my shed on the week end?

One of the first things I did when I got the kit home was to bolt on the flanges and stick 8x 90 degree bends in the holes pointing straight up. Looked cool but making Top Fuel Broom Broom noses when your sitting on the chassis pretending to drive is a bit hard on your throat.

Cheers

[Rebel1]

Dont ya just love the look of em ... easy to get at..see all the working bits.... then we wrap em in fibreglass and they get to be a $hit to get to anything.

Hey fellas...whats ya thoughts on ceramic coating the calipers...HPC or jet hot??....good? bad?


You all take care

[trularin]

Good morning!

I think this is going to be a fine morning.

Everyone down under is up. ( that didn't sound right ).

The weekend was great!!

Hockey tryouts are now in full swing. ( can't play with the car ).

Thanks and have a great week.

[Rebel1]

Gawd...I knew I was crook but is it morning already?

Dunno about there on earth trularin, but here in brisbane, Australia its 9:32 pm and it's as cold as a frogs .... ermm..dont matter

You all take care

[750hp]

Les - it's now around 10pm, and it's still NOWHERE NEAR as cold as the drive out to Queensland Raceway at 7.30am on Sunday!!!!!!! Even after leaving at that time, I was still the last Cobra to arrive for the display. Oh, that was until Scott decided to cruise in at what seemed like 10 or 11 o'clock. I suppose he's allowed to sleep in every now and then!

There were over 100 Mustangs on display, including almost one of each Shelby model. Add in a couple of genuine 289 Cobras, about 30 GT Falcons, hot rods, Corvettes and Ferraris, and it was a pretty good rollout. That was just in the pits! 3 Cobras and Chris' GT40 competed, Denis Stone took his Jag SS100 for a blast, and there was one of the best historic open wheeler fields that Queensland has ever seen. Ralt, Chevron, Brabham, Lotus, Kaditcha, Renmax, Elfin -- they were all there 280 cars in all took to the track. Fantastic day all around. The display cars went out on the track for three laps of "cruising". I gave mine a bit of a blip of the throttle, and all the glass and steel packing that Scott had jammed up my exhaust (as a temporary fix for last Sanctuary Cove breakfast), came flying out of the sidepipes in a spectacular chunk that promptly disintegrated against the pit wall

[Aussie Mike]

Craig,

It sounds like you had a good weekend too!

Is that Queensland raceway event a regular? Sounds like one to stick in the calender for next year.

Cheers

[Rebel1]

HiYa Craig...I was going to go but ended up with the sniffles...actually full blown flu that I caught up your way some where...either Rosewood or Warwick this time last week.

Now...all you guys come on saying what a great weekend it was... cruel I tell ya!!

Keep in mind that Scott has just become a Dad so I guess he's outta practice with stuffin things proper.

You all take care

[750hp]

Come to think of it, he was pretty excited when he told me he'd performed a satisfactory stuffing......

Mike, this is an annual event that's held by www.hrcc.org.au The club secretary comes into our newsagency each day, and he must spend 20 hours per week just organising upcoming events. They all run like clockwork. It also helped that it was a perfectly calm day - no wind, not a cloud in the sky. 24 degrees. Beautiful!!! Dad and I actually got sunburnt - you've gotta love a Queensland winter


Craig

[trularin]

Could we get just one more Yankee in this discussion so I don't feel, down and out.

Winter???? It is a warm 88 F and humidy. Winter here, on earth, is cold and snow all over the place. Very bad for Cobras.

If it is 24 C in winter there, what is it in summer?

[BMK]

Hi all,

Worked hard on the car also in Melbourne at McDonald Bros. racing. Putting in brakes lines at this time. Fuel and battery lines in through chassis rails. Busy couple of days.


Not much to do now before placing body on for final fit out.

Ring me and drop in sometime at their race fabricating shop.

Will drive the car home in primer (blue tinted) to finish off in Mt. Gambier. Wish I could have convinced the guys at Homebush to use coloured Gel coat!!

Hope to have car ready for Nationals. Will not bring it unless totally finished (painted)

I head off for ten days to cruise the islands aboard the Seaway Princess P & O. so not muchy being done on car for next two weeks. Will let you know how hard the next two weeks are when I get back.

Talk soon

Cheers

Bernie

[750hp]

trularin - It regularly hits mid to high 30s with high humidity in Summer, which is nothing like Arizona when OZVENOM and I stayed with BTSNAKE before and after DVSF2. 122 degrees is pure insanity......

BUT IT'S A DRY HEAT !!!!!!

Bernie - it'd be a shame to miss out on bringing your Cobra for the sake of a lack of paint.... in fact, that's probably the best time to sort out the little details and get out on the racetrack. Once everything's just right, then go and spend the cash on a paintjob. I was planning on going that way with my car but I got to the point that I knew if I got the car registered and drveable without paint, it'd never get painted. OZVENOM also knew that once my car left his workshop that he'd have a heck of a time getting me to bring it back there for a few finishing touches. Working on them isn't a fraction of the fun of driving them.

Les - regarding the difficulty with gaining access to the engine bay with the body on..... I cannot state strongly enough how much I recommend fitting a removable front end to any Cobra owners. I had to change the timing cover on my first RMC, and I was paranoid about scratching the paint on the guards - despite having covers draped over them. I leant over that damn thing all day, and my back was killing me. From that day, I decided that the new car would have a tilt/removable front end. It is the single most important mod that was done to this car. Paint the dzus fasteners and no-one would ever know the difference...

[750hp]

....oh, at Scott's prompting, maybe the rollbar is the most important mod

[BMK]

Hi all,

Yeah you are probaly right. I am thinking about doing a shake down run prior to the Wakefield weekend. If all is ok I will work on the body to get it primer.

The paint shop guy here is working on the idea of using some primer and colour together. I can then rub this back prior to doiing the final prep and paint - basically a coloured guide coat.

Does that sound right to the painters out there ??

This way I will not be driving about in a dirty white gel coat. Just a thought and it sounded ok to me.

This way I will drive it to Wakefield.

cheers . Will have it finised for 'Weekend at Bernie's" though

Bernie

[Rebel1]

Actually may be better bringing it with just a guide coat cuz then we can drool all over it without doin much damage

What sort of primer is ya painter going to use Bernie?

Reason I ask is..I have seen heaps of cars done with a spray polyester which look great for the first 12 Months.....then they look crappy cuz the polyester shrinks, and shows every imperfection.

Second thoughts...you bring the car and a few cartons of laughing water and we'll bring the spray cans.

You all take care

[BMK]

Hi all,

I will use the PPG paint as I have the PPG Guardsman colour codes now after talking with Kris at Shelby American. I think I mentionned he very kindly sent me a full file of one of Shelby's own cars.

I am reasonable sure that we will use the PPG stuff. Will check.

Funny you mention spray cans

It was suggested that I get the local kids here to spray it. They do a great job on the walls here and on the interstate train.

They can paint it and tag it whilst its at the train station with passengers still on it. Would be a cheap paint job and would gain some real attention. The graffitti Cobra

Cheers

Bernie

[Rebel1]

Dare I say flower power Bernie .... that would be cute.

Nuh..if you ever put it into the weeds....we'd never find it

PPG is good stuff Bernie..they have a great 2 pack primer... sands beautifully and doesnt suffer the post cure shrinkage that spray polyester does.

It will be very durable as a pigmented primer/sealer..you wont have to worry about moisture retention.

You all take care