New guy here wondering who is the manufacturer of the roadster i just bought.

[Ralphy]

OG,
You showed a vin number that began with NCS do you see a North Carolina vin plate? Because that is what I have.

Me thinks the angled tail lights were the final clue, I think we have a match!

I find it also ironic that your car came from Indiana as Rick is in Indiana.

[ogravty]

Yes, i found a license plate from North Carolina inside the car while cleaning =P and the dealership was in Indiana lol. I just took some pictures and i'm about to load it. So we'll know as soon as Ricks see it.

[Rick Yeager]

OG, I bought a top kit from Shell Valley. I suspect that the top was a Robins top. Like everything else, it was close but did not fit. The body has a slight “twist” to it that makes the cloth top fit just a little cross ways. I have come very close to getting it but have not spent enough time with variables to maybe work it around to fit. A Robins might work for you, it is close. But fewer headaches would be to buy the boughs, and latches and take it to a shop and have it made specifically for your car. You described the top of the door better than I did but it was the same thing. The abnormal door top could cause you to have trouble getting the side curtains to fit. There will be a gap between the bottom of the side curtain and the top of the door. You might ask the person redoing the doors to try to flatten the top of the doors a little to make this less of a problem. From the gallery, you can see that the doors took a lot work.

Also the doors are at an odd angle to the body causing the front edge of the side curtains to not sit against the rear of the windshield frame right. The Cobra Restorers have the three mounting pegs which makes the side curtains a little more secure but the last post comes very close to the body and latch--something you may want to watch. Another unusual variable on installing the top, at least on mine, was that the rear bulkhead was not mounted into the rear quarter panels symmetrically. This made the main top post on the left go through the body between the bulkhead and the quarter panel. But on the right the top post came through the quarter panel on the inside of the bulkhead. So on the right side the post could be seen but not on the left. Not a big problem but a unique oddity.

Like others have suggested. It is very easy to put far more money into one these little cars than it would ever be worth. If it running, enjoy it and don’t seat the details too much.

[767Jockey]

Ogravty,
The Contemporary used a Camaro gas tank with the original filler location already sealed off and a new filler neck already installed in the correct place. They're all set to go! Contact Nick Acton "Mickmate" here on Club Cobra, I believe he's got one or more of them laying around his place. I believe he'd likely be willing to sell them, I believe he had them for sale here on CC in the classifieds, take a few minutes to do a search in the classifieds or even better get in touch with him. Sounds like they're just what you need. Hope this helps.
Doug

[ogravty]

Thanks Doug for the info on the tank. Rick, thank you for the tips on to top. I loaded some new pics of the wheel well and the steering wheel column for you to check. If it is in fact one from Rowan Replicar, do you have any info on them. All i was able to find was that they are out of business.

[joyridin']

I read most of these posts, but maybe I missed something. Does this tank have a bladder? If not, this would seem to be an easy fix. Cover the existing hole and move the filler on the tank to the right. This is similar to how my tank is mounted and it works great. You will need some type of rubber hose connecting the tank to the inlet anyhow due to vibration.

[Rick Yeager]

Sorry, OG, I can't find the pictures you down loaded. Where should I look? I think that I have posted about all I know about the company on the Rowen Repiclar post. If I remember more I'll be glad to share it.

Thanks,
Rick

[ogravty]

the pictures is under my album http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/pict...008111&thumb=1

[ogravty]

http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/albu...pictureid=4490 i think that one is a better link.

[Rick Yeager]

OG, thanks for the photos. The frame on you car has a notch cut on the front right that mine does not. The back of the frame under the trunk is not capped on yours where it is on mine. I could not tell about the rear wheel flares from your pictures. See how the flare on the second photo in my gallery comes out from the body rather than “V”-ing into the body like most other 427 Cobras? Also there was not room for the fuel pump between the engine and the frame on my car. Steve said that it should fit and that it did on his but I could never make it work. Consequently have gone through three electric fuel pumps. The door tops on yours looks identical to the way they came on mine. The difference in the front fender heights, left higher than right is the same and the asymmetrical oval air intakes are the same. The left side is a little wider than the right. The inner fender panels look the same. Your builder had to cut them out a little too. Only the exposed part of the body was finished and was in the same color of primer. All the inner panels and cockpit surfaces were just exposed fiberglass. Even the underlying brown base primer which was exposed where you were working on the right door is the same. You can see it in some of my pictures. The rear of the body stood up higher on mine with the Mustang II springs like it does yours. I put spacers between the springs and the axel to make it more level.

It was interesting to see how the builder of your car used a little different solutions to the same problems I ran into like the side vents. In the brochure no side vents are shown. The foot box was a little more forward and the builder of yours moved the vents forward where I cut notches in the inside of the foot boxes. I think he even used the same emergency brake system and cut out and welded the same cable mounts. But I mounted it on the side of the tunnel rather than the top. I have never been pleased with the way mine works. The builder welded braces from the door hinge plates to reach the windshield posts. I fixed brackets from the top. His was a much cleaner approach.

All in all, it looks like both cars were made from the same frame jigs and body molds and constructed in the same way with similar materials. If yours isn’t a Rowen, then whoever built it did it from the jigs and molds and plans as the Rowan company did. The body and frames are almost identical.

Yes, RustyBob, another mystery solved. Ain’t Club Cobra a great forum?

OG, thanks for starting this thread.

[ogravty]

This is awesome, thank you guys.

[rustyBob]

Club Cobra is the BEST by far....