JMarsey JBL

[David Biele]

Hello Richard,

I just got back from a trip up to the Bay area and I had the chance to visit John and see his build and what he has done with his chassis. I just wanted to let you know what awesome job John has done with his JBL. It will be a real shame to cover up the fine workmanship and unbelievable detail he has put into this car. I now know what a labor of love John put into his build and I only can hope that my build is half as good as what he has done.

David

[decooney]

Took a trip down a few months ago to John's place with a few friends to see his JBL in progress. Good guy, very fanatical about engineering or re-engineering every last detail and function into the car; way beyond the norm if you ask me. After seeing his car and comparing to hundreds of other Cobras, I'm certain it will be much more capable than 99.99% of the Cobras on a track like Sears Point. Can we say "scaled up go kart".

Hey John, if you are reading this... thanks for the visit down there. We enjoyed the tour and all. Hope to come down again soon with a pack of Cobras to stop by the Rod Shop...

See Ya.

[Richard Hudgins]

Hi David,

thanks for the heads up on John's car. I have not seen it in person since it left the works, but John and I have spoken a number of times about the modifications to fit his BOSS engine. (What a pain, John has much more preserverance than I)

He has sent me photos of the engine bay mods and he has done one hell of a job. The installation and drivetrain component selection is excellent.

Also, the engine plumbing details are wonderful and he has paid the proper attention to good engineering methods in all things that I have seen.

Did you see the collectors that he has built. Things of Beauty. His custom headers are quite nice as well. (JBL cannot afford to provide that level of sidepipe as standard. I certainly wish that they could. Note: the standard 351 headers from JBL dave are proper bits. Equal lenght, tuned for max torque at 4800, but the collectors and sidepipes are not race pieces. They are good and equal to all the other boys, but not to Johns level. He has used the same stuff the F1 guys use.)

Decooney,

I agree, John's car is going to be quite the piece. He is running the car at track ride heights (The way it was designed) with the track wheel rates and it should work quite well. All the bits on the chassis are the standard components on the JBL. (He has set the car up the way I meant it to be. It is a first. All the other cars have been dual purpose with a lean towards road use, not track.) I can hardly wait for him to come to Willow with that bad boy.

Now, JBL Dave just has to get some of the aero bits to John to make the thing work as intended.

Lastly, I wish John would do a website about his build and his car. It is such a special piece, It would be great if folks could see his work and where he is going with this car. (It seems that John is a bit retiring and does not wish to toot his own horn, but he has every right to, from what I have seen.)

[jmarsey]

David,

I was out of town this last week dealing with some family matters and missed this thread. It was great that we could get together and talk shop, JBL style. I am truly excited for you and I know by talking with you that you're going to have a very nice road car when you're done. I appreciate your offer to help me out with some of my metal fabrication needs. Also it's fun to have a enthusiastic JBLer to bs with. Wish things were moving faster with my project as I am so friggin close to a driveable chassis I can smell the octane. Hopefully things will calm down soon and I can get back to work on the car. Again, don't hesitate to call if you have questions. I'm happy to give my two cents if it will help.

Wish I could make the Knott's show but unfortunately I'll be out of town that weekend. It would be fun to hang at the JBL tent. Thanks for your appreciation, John

[jmarsey]

Hi Duane,

I'm glad you enjoyed the tour and again it was a pleasure to meet you. I just wanted to say that you and your cobra boys are welcome at the rod shop. That is a serious invite. I am doing some more work there, interesting project, and spoke with the owner specifically about you and having a little cobra bash at the shop. He told me no problem, that any time I want is ok with him. So come on, think about it and let's make a plan. Maybe in May or June. I may actually have my JBL over there around that time. Maybe these guys would like to see it. Marc could bring his Viper. It will be fun. Shoot me an email.
Hope to hear from you soon, John

[jmarsey]

Hi Richard,

Thank you for your continuing support. God knows I need it. As I said in the other post I have been tied up with other commitments and progress has slowed. I expect to get back into a serious routine here shortly. I think we are fairly squared away until I mount the body. At that point I will want to discuss all the aero stuff.

I am still not quite dialed in with caster/ camber / alignment and square. I want this perfect before I mount the body. I may have a few questions. I did come across a laser alignment tool and thought about you. I think something like this could be made very simply for the JBL. Because there is so much adjustability with JBLs a tool like this could be very handy. I know it would for me. Check this out: http://www.truelasertrack.com/
You could probably get away with one laser and one front and one rear stand-off. I think it would make setting up the car so much easier. The stand-off could mount right where the spinner attaches to the rim. Let me know what you think.

I would love to do a website but have not found a simple way to do one yet. I have FrontPage but haven't learned the program. It's just taking the time to do it. If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears.

Believe me, when this thing is ready for the track, I will make sure you are there. I am holding you totally responsible.

Thanks again for your support and I'll keep you up to date as progress is made.

John

[Richard Hudgins]

Hi John,

I looked at the laser device. It seems that it would work well. However, they still use a tape measure to set the suspension.

However, you can do the same thing by making .250 aluminium plates that are 20-25 inches wide and and 20 inches tall. You then machine the wheel bolt pattern and a clearance hole for the hub center. These are located in the center of plate on the horizontal plane and and at the top on the vertical plane. (This allows the plate to hang down below the chassis, so that you can measure across and under the chassis.)

You will also need to make some solid damper rods of the correct lenght to hold the suspension at ride height position with the car on jack stands.

With these in place, you can set toe, camber, caster, etc. quite easily and accurately.

If you would like a drawing, I think that JBL Dave has some already done. He has made a couple of sets of these plates and that is what is used in house to set suspensions. (His are way too complex with bubble levels, center and outer scribe lines, etc. But that is the way Dave does things.)

As to a web site, you are welcome to put up a section of your own on the JBL site if you would like. The server is a Win2000 unit with Front page extensions, so you could easily put up your site.

[jmarsey]

Richard,

What a simple solution. I would definitely be interested in either buying or making these plates. If Dave is set up for drilling studs and hub centers, maybe he could whip me out a set. Brilliant.

Thanks for the invite to your website. As soon as I get a little time I want to develope a build site.

Thanks Richard, John

[Richard Hudgins]

John,

I will check with Dave on the cost of these plates and time to build and deliver.

I am going to set up a sub web for you on the JBL site. You know, something like http: //www.jblmotor.com/bossjbl

I will send you login and password for your web site shortly.

[jmarsey]

Richard,

Now you're putting on the pressure. It may take a while to get something going on the web. Don't hold me to any time constraints. I have been wanting to do this since I got the car.

I spoke with Dave and he wants to send me his plates for my use and review. I'll set up the car and send them back. At that point, if I wish, he will make a set for me to my specs should they differ. Maybe we can simplify Dave's specs as you said. Anyway this will take out the guess work. Dave told me he uses 1/2" aluminum plate for these things. That should be a fairly hefty shipping charge.

Thanks again Richard, John

[cobrajeff]

John -

Stopped to check progress of the BOSS JBL in your photo gallery - looks like your car took an unscheduled trip into the woods or something? What happened?

The car is such a work of art - so sorry to see bent-up bits on it. Looks like there probably wasn't any significant frame damage - but I'm sure all of those coolers and such will be expensive to replace.

Hope you are OK, and that the car will be staightened out soon. Will you have it ready for a parking lot corral at Monterey?

regards,

Jeff Burgy

[decooney]

Wow - !!!!

John, if you see this thread update, hopefully you are OK and did not get hurt. Please let us know how your are doing. I lost your home email, or I'd send you one. You can email me if possible. From the light marks on the tires it looks like a low immovable object was involved or something as well?. Are you OK, chassis OK?

Marc had a close one in the Kart two weekends ago... someone came up from behind at 65mph, he was at 35 off to the side, and the guy ran straight into the back of him... the other guys Kart flipped up in the air, did a 180 and flew off the track. Luckily nobody was really hurt. Another reminder about these motorized objects that we strap ourselves into, and that we all need to respect the horsepower to weight ratio... whatever the case.

We'll wait to hear from you on the trip down of course.

[jmarsey]

Duane & Jeff,

A trusted friend used some very bad judgement and lost control of my car. He is ok. His ego got the biggest bruise of all. He is lucky to be alive, seriously. My car has been completely disassembled and the chassis will get thoroughly checked out before re-assembly. It is surprising how strong the JBL chassis is. One would expect more damage from this type of crash...going through a four rail pasture fence twice. What you see in the photo is the result of hitting the first 4x6 post head on at 40 mph give or take.

This was a stupid accident and never should have happened. I'm embarrassed to even discuss it and still feel sick about it. What a lesson.

Thank you for your concern, John

ps, Duane you have mail

[Excaliber]

I know it's hard to talk about but I think it's also good for us to learn about how accidents happen in a Cobra. Might save someone a trip down the "same road".

,,,,,,,just a thought,,,,,,, I feel real bad your car is banged up and glad your friend is OK.

Ernie

[Bluedog]

John, you have Email!

Thanks,

Bluedog

[jmarsey]

Bluedog,

I'm a little slow. Did you send me something?

John

[Bluedog]

Hey John, yes I sent you a private message a few days ago. Goto your User CP and open up your private message box.
Regards,

Bluedog