Contemporary Cobra frame drawings

[Eljaro]

After my accident with the Contemporary Cobra a few months ago I am now proceeding to repair it.



Body is off and being redone and frame stripped bare.
The frame has taken some damage and i have it in a shop where they are going to put it on a straightening rig.
The shop is asking me if I can supply measures of the frame, which would make their work easier and more precise.

I contacted Peter Bayer asking if he had plans or measures of the frame. He said everything was sold (to Burtis I guess), who went out of business 3 years later and who sold the drawings to Factory 5 Racing.
He also wrote not to expect much from F5, since similar request in the past were not honored.
I nevertheless contacted Factory 5 asking if they had the information I needed, but got as an answer that since they did not purchase the frame/jig from Contemporary they do not have the information.
So who bought them then?

Googling around I discovered that Allied Industries International were selling a very similar frame, and wonder if it may not have been the frame Contemporary used in their kits.

Anyway, is there anyone who has or knows who has drawings of the frame with measures which may help in the straightening process?

[carmine]

Eljaro
I have yet to see fibreglass repair that hasn't shown its joint repair work.
Over period of about one year the repaired fibreglass tends to expand and contract different than the original fibreglass and the repair joint will show up like a scar under the shiny paint work.

[joyridin']

Originally Posted by carmine

Eljaro
I have yet to see fibreglass repair that hasn't shown its joint repair work.
Over period of about one year the repaired fibreglass tends to expand and contract different than the original fibreglass and the repair joint will show up like a scar under the shiny paint work.

Will this go away of you wait a year before you paint to let it heat cycle a bit?

[carmine]

Unfortunately no.
The repair usually is butted together and extra layers added bellow to make up for the strength loss of butt joint. The end result is a repair that is thicker than the originally layed glass work along with the cut glass fivers of the original break adds up to different expansion rates when exposed to different temps thus showing a scar line that will always show even if allowed to cure longer or repainted again at later date.

[redmt]

I have a bare frame in the shop. Are there any particular measurements you need?

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by carmine

Eljaro
I have yet to see fibreglass repair that hasn't shown its joint repair work.
Over period of about one year the repaired fibreglass tends to expand and contract different than the original fibreglass and the repair joint will show up like a scar under the shiny paint work.

I've done rear clip, front clip, and side panel replacements and partial replacements when I had my shop without ever an issue down the road (some older than 10 years now) with repair shrinkage. I've always used a 3M marine grade resin and adhesive compound when working on Cobras (FFR, SPF, Contemporary, Unique, and A&C).


Bill S.

[DanEC]

Fiberglass can be repaired just fine without showing through the paint over time. If it couldn't you wouldn't see a 53 - 82 Corvette that didn't look like crap because almost all of them have been banged up and repaired over time. It just takes doing the repairs properly, using resins that are compatible with the original resins and fiberglass mat and not cloth. Plastic filler is not a proper body "repair" material although it's just fine for panel smoothing. I restored a 66 Corvette 25 years ago and did all the body work including replacing a rear quarter panel and glassing in all the original body seams - The front clip had been replace earlier. Even with lacquer paint I sprayed on it you can't find a repair anywhere on the surface 25 years later.

[krausewich]

I don't have a direct answer for frame resto info, but Mark Smith would know what assets FFR walked away with from Burtis. Maybe an email to him at Smyth Motors could turn up a definitive answer. The only other source that may pan out is if you can get ahold of Don Borders. He was the last known 'to me' producer of anything Contemporary, then I believe he teamed up with Coddington a long time back. Hope any of it helps.

Mike.

[MOTORHEAD]

A good fiberglass repair on anything, car, boat, airplane, will depend on all mentioned above, but above all, don't butt the joints ! they must be tapered. That's where you get to add new glass without bulging the surface. (u can add more material behind, if it seems necessary) and also greatly increases the bonding surface area.

Ted

[carmine]

There you go Eljaro.
Now you have posted techniques that will ensure good results. Use them as reference to check your body mans repares on the fibreglass and if proper resins used.

[Jaydee]

Wouldn't a complete body be easier and maybe cheaper then repairing all that damage?
JD

[mickmate]

I have a few dimensions jotted down off the rear of the frame. Shoot me an e-mail and I'll see what I can find for you.

[rlrileysr]

I heard that Don passed away almost two years ago (February '14) while waiting for a heart transplant.

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by MOTORHEAD

A good fiberglass repair on anything, car, boat, airplane, will depend on all mentioned above, but above all, don't butt the joints ! they must be tapered. That's where you get to add new glass without bulging the surface. (u can add more material behind, if it seems necessary) and also greatly increases the bonding surface area.

Ted

Good point - correct fiberglass repairs and splices always require tapering the edge of a splice or dish-grinding out a crack over a width of 1-1/2 or 2 inches minimum. Then lay mat and resin into the crack with increasingly wider cuts of mat as it fills to the top and maximum width of the grind out. Roll each layer in with a fiberglass mat roller. Then grind out the other side of the repair or crack similarly and repeat. Should never be a problem if proper materials and technique are used.

[Eljaro]

Frame is on the straightening bench and being sorted. Not easy since frame is quite elastic and tends to spring back, so needs careful "overstraightening" and remeasuring after that until the whole frame is square.