Kirkham Summit 2004 Report

[computerworks]

Friday..Jan16..

Just a quick update to start a thread on the actual meeting
Early arrivals... Toy Collector, Steve R and I arrived Friday afternoon....soon to be joined by Jamo, Pat B. and Mr & Mrs U-2.

We pestered the Kirkhams as preparations were being made for Saturday's meeting.



(l-r) Jamo, TC, David K, Steve R. and U-2

..certainly, more to follow.

[RaceDeck]

Sat Morning : We are heading out to breakfast and then off to the summit....I know the Kirkham Boys have been busy getting ready for everyone today....It will be fun, see you there

[John McMahon]

Someone please pester the Ks about...

SLABSIDE...SLABSIDE...SLABSIDE!

[RaceDeck]

Just back from the summit and it was great fun and very informative.....Got to met some of the faces in this forum....

[RaceDeck]

I have a bunch of pictures but can not find my cable? I will get them posted as soon as I do.....those kirkham family really put on a great event ...the qaulity of their cars and all of the billet upgrade suspension items are phenominal....There was lots of "Eye-Candy" to be had....

[Jamo]

Johnny Boy...consider them pestered. Tom reports that one is a few weeks away from touchdown in Provo.

Jorgen, great meeting you...the floor was great.

Got to finally meet Bob Evans in person...as much a gentleman as he is tall. Bob...next time I go through Cedar City, even if it is midnight, I will stop by.

We just finished dinner. Tons of pics and many tall tales to tell. We're hitting the road at 0600 (been hanging with the Colonel too much). We five-fingered a bunch of stuff off the shelves...future production may be delayed.

[computerworks]

I second Jamo's post..great day, full of good car talk.

Tech sessions by David Kee, Mike LeFevres, David and Tom Kirkham.

Here, David lectures on suspension components...



..seconds after the pic was taken, Jamo stripped the car to its bare frame.

There was an interesting demo of a 427 frame, where one side was fully populated with original suspension, while the other side had all new, aluminum components... impressive!



All through the shop, cars on lifts went up and down all day as everyone had a chance to see how they were assembled.

..even CSX3104 was available for some "fine-tooth-combing" by me.

[Brent Mills]

Jamo, did Tom work some magic on your door? How did that work out and what was done?

[ToyCollector]

Brent, you have it backwards.

Jamo worked magic on the Kirkham doors. He walked out with the start of a new car . Metal detectors will be installed for the next Summit.

[Turk]

That is going to require some explanation....
What do you MEAN "he walked out with the start of a new car"??
Assplain please..

TURK

[Robert Evans]

Jamo from West Provo,
You're welcome to stop by anytime...I'll leave blankets and a pillow by the front door. You can just hop into the trailer and I'll see you in the morning!

Great to finally meet you guys in person. Be sure and give Pat a kiss for me.

[RaceDeck]

Bob, it was great seeing you and Cree ( is that spelled right? )
I know Kerry enjoyed seeing you both too. So did you get one?

[ToyCollector]

I want to thank the Kirkhams for their great hospitality, and it was so great to meet everyone who came to the event and it was great to see their magnificent facility and cars. Time well spent with friends, fine cars, and fine people.

[PatBuckley]

We had a ball!

U2, his wife Malia, Jamo, and I left Colfax California at 6AM.

The trip out there was one laugh after another -

Jamo was a great host (we used his Expedition) with water in everyones cup holder, a steady supply of Bastirma (?) and string cheese - which Malia (U2's wife) rolled into an Armenian Taco - fruit, candy, etc.

Aside from a brief (but exciting) bout with some black ice near Truckee, the trip was smooth.

We arrived on Friday afternoon late and went straight to the Kirkhams - they whole place was still setting up for the week-end, hanging HUGE posters of their cars, installing Race Deck flooring, polishing parts, setting up displays, etc. Quite impressive how much work ALL of them went through for everyone from Tom and Mary Kirkham (Tom and Davids parents) on down....

We then went back to the hotel and met everyone for drinks and dinner -

The next morning we met for breakfast and ran into Morris - new Club Cobra member who is a three time National Champion road racer and who is buying a Kirkham - turns out he is a really nice guy and total gearhead - has about 40 Harleys including one that took best of show at Sturgis....need I say more? It was good to talk with a real racer - someone who has a clue about what it takes to race a car.

Anyway, we arrived at KMS around 9:30 AM and socialized as we climbed over all the fantastic cars that were on display. Not often you can poke around an original 427 that is on a lift...about 50 - 55 people were there.

Presentations were made by:

Tom and David Kirkham on their aluminum suspension pieces, interesting details on their original Cobra, safety wiring and wheel tightening tips (tight!), etc

Mike Lefevers on the Shelby engines - some really good history about when the block was first planned, what it took to get it into production, the timeline on the cylinder head program, etc. Good stuff.

Next was David Kee - the MAN!!! If you needed to know anything about a toploader - this was the time to ask! He had a really well done cutaway of a toploader there and discussed theory and operation the the transmission as well as his plans for the replacement iron and aluminum versions. He also gave some excellent tips on maintenance and operation that I had not heard before.

We then broke for lunch - excellent food. We had roast beef and some potatos that were cooked in a Dutch Oven ( or is called Dutch Oven...still not clear) and a salad that was excellent! Dessert was either peach cobbler or blackberries and ice cream. I over ate.

Following lunch, Jamo put on a presentation about how to get your car registered and titled - the counselor did an excellent job! Surprised me. Just kidding. It was informative and funny - of course he used Turk as the example of what NOT to do and had the crowd laughing. After Jamo got done - I think his presentation was about two or three hours - - the Kirkhams put on a presentation showing how they got started, what they have done, and where they are going. Very interesting.

After this everyone inspected all the displays and we all helped ourselves to all kinds of parts. More accurately - if your Kirkham needed a part you asked and it was provided to you - at no charge. I have never actually experienced that kind of customer support before so I must say I am stunned. As an example - I decided to do my roll bar a little differently than the one that came on the car. I mentioned that to David and he went into their back room and came back with a brand new roll bar and just gave it to me. I asked him how much...."no charge - thanks for buying a Kirkham!"

I had the pleasure of meeting "Big" Bob Evans. What a gentleman. I was seriously impressed with what a nice guy he is. I later saw him sitting in a 289 (of course) - it looked like he was getting measured up...he even let me autograph his Kirkham cap.....

We finally left at about 7PM - the Kirkhams were all still willing to go on it seemed - what enthusiasm! - and as we left we were given examples of original style suspension pieces - nice way to get spares!

All in all a great visit - I would do it again.

Thanks to all the Kirkhams.

[computerworks]

An aerial view of one of the presentations...

(note the life-sized banner hanging on the right... a choice of banners was one of the door prizes!)



Lunch.. done up right by the whole "K" family. Simple test procedure was in place... you knew you had enough to eat when you could no longer fit in the GT-40 (real one)



A great lecture by David Kee, master of the toploader. David had a cut-away transmission and spoke at length about his new fabrications to continue the life of these 4-speeds...

[Tom White]

Sounds like a great time, sorry I missed it. Thanks for the great pictures and descriptions. Tom

[ToyCollector]

Some pics.

Jamo doing the limbo under CSX3104



The SEMA car is as pretty in person as in the pics. It was a treat to see the juxtaposition of it with Tom Srs. CSX3104.



Neat display. KMP frame with left side showing latest billet suspension, right side with original style suspension.



Some may just see two Kirkhams. Here are file finished 289 with a stainless framed 427 behind it.



What a pretty face.

[hoppy]

I flew in from L.A. Sat. AM and arrived at Kirkham Palace about 11:00. So many interesting people, cars and presentations. By the time I was back on a plane at 7:00 PM my head was spinning. Everyone was so friendly and accomodating, most especially all of the Kirkham family and meeting Jamo after having read so many of his threads was a pleasure. I can't remember a day better spent since I was young enough to remember sex.

Thanks to everyone.

[Morris]

What a great way to spend a Saturday.....

The Cobra Club folks ...... Pat Buckley, Shapp, Computerworks, Jamo,Toy Collector, U-2.... and all of the folks at KMP including David and Tom and Steve..... and especially Mary.....

A Big Thank You ......for allowing a new comer in to listen to the knowledge and experience from the many years of work you all have dedicated to the Cobra vehicle....

It makes the journey of the build an exciting development and a willingness to share the involvement.

I can't wait to get started and experience the same feelings each of you have come to enjoy everyday of your Cobra life..... and when I looked at each of you wearing a smile (from ear to ear)...... you could tell it was a labor of love that brought this group together...

Again Thanks for allowing a new comer to get a taste of things to come and more importantly share it with others ....

May the Journey be as good as the Destination and back

Morris-KMP-259

[Bud Man]

Great, great photos. Looks like all had a great time!

Thanks Tom, David, Mary and all the other fine folks at Kirkham for being a driving factor in this hobby, and giving so unselfishly to enhance the experience!

There in spirit....

Bud