427 Cobra Trunk Kit

[Obsessive]

Alright, so once upon a time I wanted a reproduction of the 427 Owners Manual and posted a thread on this forum. After a while, Mickmate (actoncobra.com) knocked one out of the park by reproducing one for all us authenticity junkies to purchase for only $45! Mine's on order and I hope to take delivery sometime in October.

Next:

1. I am really Jones'n for an authentic reproduction tool kit, complete with all the correct tools in the correct vinyl tool roll.
2. I need a correct strap kit for my spare tire.
3. I really want to find a reproduction (new) jack and jack handle, complete with the correct clip to hold it in place in my trunk.

I'm posting this with the hope that I can find enough of you who will jump on the bandwagon and chime in to bully Nick into producing these for us! I spoke with him today and he sounds interested but we need to find him an example jack for casting. Who's interested? Anyone know where we can get him a jack for loan or sale?

Mike

[my427cobra]

Hi Mike. A while ago Scott Tucker posted a thread about Bruce Canepa's CSX 3360 with some nice pics of the tool kit. I have e-mailed him asking for better pics and written detail of the tools.
Many of the period tools are still availalable on e-bay, and the Thor 2lb copper/leather hammer is available new. I just bought a set of period correct tools and the correct grease gun on e-bay. The tool bag would have to be specially made.
The jack, comparing to old pics in books and magazines, appears to be a King Dick jack which is very similar to the one offered by Moss Motors in their Austin Healey catalogue.
Collectively there are enough experts here (I'm not one of them) that I'm sure we can come up with the correct info.
I'll let you know when Scott gets back to me.

Cheers
Greg

[rodneym]

Any good pics of the tool roll?
I can help. My company is a vinyl fabricator and industrial sewer (silkscreening too).
More than likely a tool would have to be made but if it gets to that (having all the parts in place), I'm in.

[LMH]

I have a pic somewhere of a tool kit I saw next to an original. I'll see if I can find it tonight.
Larry

[Cobra #3170]

I would buy one too, all I have left are 3 Whitworth spanners and the grease gun. When the car was about 3 months old I got a flat and found that the supplied jack would not go under the frame if the tire was flat so I tossed it and bought a scissors jack from PEP boys.

[LMH]

I often wondered if the jack would fit under the car if the tire was flat.
Larry

[Obsessive]

Originally Posted by Cobra #3170

I would buy one too, all I have left are 3 Whitworth spanners and the grease gun. When the car was about 3 months old I got a flat and found that the supplied jack would not go under the frame if the tire was flat so I tossed it and bought a scissors jack from PEP boys.

Thanks for all the responses guys. I would love to see whatever pictures and whatever specific info you can offer on the specific tools.

Cobra #3170: Man, I wish you hadn't told be that! I'd love to have the jack just to reproduce it. I understand the correct jack is a Shelly jack, LJ22 model, not the King Dick. You can't find them anywhere. I have heard the same complaint that they're not functional with a flat tire. I'd still like to have it for the trunk - I'll just carry a small length of 2"x6" (to drive the flat tire up onto it) along with it to make it work. The funny thing is, I have to do this now with my garage floor jack!

If any of you have the correct Shelly jack and will loan it or sell it to me, please chime in. Thanks!

[LMH]

Found the pic I took a couple years ago. I remember the owner telling me it was the original kit that came with the car. The plyers don't look original to me but I'm not an expert on Cobra tool kits. This was for a 289, so I don't know if the 427 was different or not.

The grease gun was there but was mounted on the footbox as per original 289.
Larry

[Obsessive]

Thanks for the picture Larry.

Does anyone know what the "L" shaped tool is for? Also, what is that on the far left side of the tools? Are they extra pins for the wheels?

[Cobra #3170]

That looks very much like what I remember including the pliers and screw driver.
My grease gun was mounted on clips in the trunk. I remember thinking what a crappy tool kit at the time, if only I had known. I still have the jack handle retainer and grease gun clips but no jack, handle or tire strap. It would be great if someone would offer a complete reproduction of all the original equipment including jack and handle. I would bet quite a few people would be interested.

[Obsessive]

Originally Posted by Cobra #3170

That looks very much like what I remember including the pliers and screw driver.
My grease gun was mounted on clips in the trunk. I remember thinking what a crappy tool kit at the time, if only I had known. I still have the jack handle retainer and grease gun clips but no jack, handle or tire strap. It would be great if someone would offer a complete reproduction of all the original equipment including jack and handle. I would bet quite a few people would be interested.

I agree. I'm hoping to convince Nick Acton to produce these. I think he's interested but we need to help him locate a jack.

Would you mind posting a picture of your trunk so I could see the exact location of where your equipment was installed? Thanks!

[my427cobra]

There may be a correct jack on e-bay as we speak. Very expensive but maybe a group buy to offset the cost and Nick could do his magic.

[my427cobra]

The Brooklands Books edition of "Shelby Cobra Gold Portfolio 1962-1969" features a reprinted article from Motor Magazine Oct 14, 1967 about a 289 Cobra. A pic shows the tool kit: Thor hammer, 4 open end wrenches (silver - Shelley?), 2 pliers (black - King Dick?), L-shaped tool (spark plug wrench?), tommy bar for jack, screwdriver as pictured in above, jack (but different shape than the one on e-bay), and grease gun.

[my427cobra]

The article from MotorMagazine also noted, as Cobra #3170 said, that the jack would not fit under the car when the tire was flat.

I too use a sissors jack. I found a nice one on e-bay for a 1990 Nissan 300ZX Turbo. Its aluminum, came with 2 aluminum folding wheel chocks and a nice vinyl pouch/bag.

[A-Snake]

Originally Posted by Obsessive

Does anyone know what the "L" shaped tool is for? Also, what is that on the far left side of the tools? Are they extra pins for the wheels?

The "L" shaped tool is the brake bleeder (wrench) tool. It allows a hose to feed through it onto the bleeder valve. The item on the left is the clip that retains all the wrenches.

[Cobra #3170]

Originally Posted by Obsessive

I agree. I'm hoping to convince Nick Acton to produce these. I think he's interested but we need to help him locate a jack.

Would you mind posting a picture of your trunk so I could see the exact location of where your equipment was installed? Thanks!

I just took a picture of the grease gun mount on the RH trunk inner panel and will post in my gallery this afternoon. I can hardly remember the jack handle (old age) but here goes, I think it was on the right side of the trunk and was two piece, it was retained by a shallow C shaped piece of steel about 2"x2" to the trunk side panel and used a wing nut or wing screw to hold the c shaped piece and handle against the panel. I remember that the clamp was slightly loose on my car when it was new and the jack handle slipped back and made a star on the exterior of the paint out board of the trunk opening which really ticked me off at the time. This is just what I remember and may be all wrong because we are dealing with old man memory. I am sure about the paint damage though, maybe some else can chime in and tell us how the handle was actually mounted. I think the jack had a square female opening on the input and the handle had a sort of rounded square that would allow angular changes of the jack handle. I was amazed at how crappy these tools were when you consider that the base price of the car was $7495 which was a lot in 1965. I always carried a bunch of tools where ever I went in the early months of owning the car because all kinds of stuff needed attention on road trips.

[my427cobra]

There is a great discussion on the AC Owners forum about the correct grease gun with lots of great pics. I'll post the link.
The correct grease guns often come up on e-bay.
I wonder if Cobra #3170 could post some pics of the grease gun clips. From the pics on the AC wners forum , which did not have good close-ups of the clips, the clips look like the broomhandle clips you can get at the hardware store.

[my427cobra]

I wonder if the Shelly jack was a ratchet style or rotating gear style as both styles appear to be avilable in many British cars of the period.

[Cobra #3170]

Mine was a rotating gear, I'll post pictures of the grease gun that came with my car too along with mounting dimensions of the grease gun clips. Probably tomorrow as I have a bunch of errands to run today.

[mickmate]

Jack is a screw type LJ22. Shelley Jacks