Intro "New Kid on the Block" Owner in Austin TX

[Austin_Snake]

Hi all,
No sure where to start but I have been lurking for quite awhile.

I have one of the "New Kid On The Block" carbon fiber Reproductions. I have been reluctant to post but now that the snake is out of the bag (and it wan't me!) I am free to write about it. This car will be like the rest of my cars, a show car that gets driven and taken to the track (road not drag) regularly. I am not a big trailer fan so will be traveling light most of the time with a big grin. The tracks I frequent the most are Texas World Speedway in College Station and Motor Sports Ranch near Ft. Worth.

I have been following the progress of this endevor since its conception. What drew me to this particular car is the attention to detail in getting it as close to the originals as possible. I have a few other British cars that are concourse champs I drive regularly so can appreciate the effort it takes to recreate these cars correctly.

Ok so down to the nuts and bolts. It is a carbonfiber/kevlar blend body that is in the 44 pound range. Let me tell you it is very stiff. One person can lift it and it will not collapse or deform in the sill area.

For a power plant I had John York (VA) build a 351W at approx 400 hp which should be more than enough power to get me down the front straight . I liked the idea of a small block anticipating the handling will be better with less weight in the nose. I suppose time on the track will really determine that.

For the purist out there the car is set up to accept the FE so it can always be plugged in at a later date if I ever feel the need for 427 or to increase value.

I am still sorting out the motor mounts to go from the stock 427SC Frame to the 351W. I have completed a 3D design and am currently out for quotes. Its a nice design that uses a polyurethane bushings and billet 7075.

Of course there will be the correct side pipes on the car. Once again getting the correct pipe in appearance is an excercise within itself. The custom header for the 351W will be a bit of an expense but the guy making them is an artist.

A Ken Miles racing seat is expected to arrive any day now. There are also 2 roll bars. I do have instuctors ride with me time to time so it is pretty manditory.

Lets see, when it gets back from the paint shop it will be Wimbeldon white and have a black enterior.

I am still sorting out locating a slave cylinder (puller) and mounting so I can shift gears. Any sources for one that works with a late model '92 Bell housing to a T5 will be appreciated.

Sooner of later I will get some detailed photos online..

Later,
Richard

[double ugly]

I'm confused as to why you would take a very accurate Cobra and make it inaccurate. Roger has gone to extreme lengths to produce as accurate a car as humanly possible. I think the second roll bar is a huge mistake as is the small block. There may be a Kirkham or CSX 4xxx car out there with your deviations but they are few and far between. PM me and I can give you some good alternatives.
John

[computerworks]

Now, now, John....you're scolding this poor guy on his intro thread. He wants to race....

Instructors do want a roll bar for them... these days. You will even see some vintage-race-prepped CSX cars with a full bar.

...and everyone knows, if you want to race and be competitive, a small block is the way to go.

Welcome aboard, Richard.

If you need help getting pictures up..just let me know.

[double ugly]

OOPs. I still have some good alternatives for him if he wants to hear them.

[Three Peaks]

I have the same set up as Richard and I'm running 2 roll bars (in 1 3/4" DOM) for the same reasons as he is. Instructors require them these days on most track days, and also my wife will appreciate the sentiment.

However, finding someone to bend the proper radius in 1 3/4" pipe and in the proper leg length was an experience (the Cobra Restorers units are too short for CSX style cars). I finally found a guy in Texas who did it for me and shipped all the pieces up for me to assemble.

Richard, hope to see some pictures of yours when it is done and on the road. I'm moving kind of slowly on mine so it will probably be a year or so until it seems fresh pavement. Roger didn't have the rollers available when I bought mine from him.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

Bob

[Austin_Snake]

Thanks for the inputs and welcomes.

I was expecting some heat on the roll bars but as pointed out this is expected at the tracks I run on. I have seen enough carnage, luckily on other cars, to see the need for this non original extra. If I was just going to trailer to events and putt around town I'd consider that no bar option but I do tend to push toward the limits at times. I've had few high speed offs under my belt but through a combo if luck and skill have always kept upright.

Thanks for the tubing bender source but Roger is taking care of having the extra roll bar fabricated it should be the same hoop as the drivers side. One thing is that the second bar has forced the helicopter style batteries to reside in the trunk as the roll bar goes right thru the space they used to live in. One small concession to originality for the opportunity to drive on these road courses.

I wish mine was a roller at this time but Roger is still doing extra stuff to the red car so mine is still in the assembly stage. My friend Rosanne has her car a head of me at the paint shop now. So I am not sure what my real schedule is. My plan is to take it up to MSR and have the alignment/suspension set, corners balanced and to some laps up there before getting it over to TWS. I think this thing will be an unforgiving beast to learn without getting the set up right. Plus MSR has some good run off areas on the old section :-)

Ever the optimist I signed up for a driving school Sept 22 at Texas World Speedway. If the cobra is not track ready then I'll drive my Cooper-S and get in the way of the Z06 Vettes in my Run Group on the straights.

So my build plan is to go balls to the wall and not let this drag on. I am trying to have all the pieces here when I get to do my part. I'll post some shots as time allows. Any help in locating those hard to find items will be appreciated!

Later,
Richard

[Three Peaks]

Which items are you looking for?

Bob

[double ugly]

PM sent.
John