Cobra Tool Kit - redux

[Dan Case]

There is like many subject Cobra/427 Cobra, is disagreement on jacks. I will agree that most cars 1962-67 received LJ22 jacks. I have a however though. Go back to 1984. I was hunting an original jack. Another owner, an original owner of his car, wanted a genuine production run HP289 camshaft so he could return his Cobra back to street specifications after his foray into racing. I had camshaft in a FoMoCo tube with a shipping label dated in 1963. His had his original jack. We swapped even up. The jack he pulled out of his car was a 12DL. The LJ22 and 12DL are similar but not the same. One cast what appears to be a forged saddle and one a cast saddle. The retainers that keep the concentric inner outer thread sections from just going around without extending are different sizes and will not interchange (tried it). My take on it is that they were built for different maximum load capacities.

Anyway, back in the 1984-85 time frame, long before I started taking pictures of variations, I found a small percentage of Cobras with 12DL jacks. Since then people have been standardizing on the LJ22 whether or not it was correct for their particular car or not. There are variations in tool pouches, wrenches, wrench clamps (holds the individuals together in a bundle), pliers, and screw drivers so variations in jacks actually does fit the small car company mold so to speak.

[Dan Case]

Originally Posted by my427cobra

About the grease gun shown. Didn't the 427's come with the grease gun that had the flutted end?

Greg

For your amusement.....a link.

AC Owners Club - Grease Guns

[my427cobra]

Larry and Dan. Interesting to note on the wreches(spanners):

On the "ELORA 100" side the sizes are marked BSW both in bullet shaped impressions.

On the "CHROME VANADIUM" side the sizes are marked BSF both in bullet shaped impressions..

Are these the 289 tools?

The pics of CSX 3360 tools on an earlier thread have the sizes only on the "ELORA 100" side and all the impressions are diaganol.

Greg

[Dan Case]

There are two well known versions common to all the cars and a third maybe. They are all the same brand and model number but made with different forging dies, different fonts, and different other markings. The big mystery is whay so many sets just say Germany instead of the logical W. Germany or West Germany. Since the same model was available before the Cobra era and are still available there are just about as many versions floating around as decades it seems.

Today the excepted practice has become just get a matching set with the correct clamp for the the time frame. There are lots of singles of the versions common to Cobras/427 Cobras around and usually not very expensive. I purchased ones as in the tool kit set and ones smaller and larger and have them just as tools to use in my tool box in the shop. Use an old very used Thor hammer also.

[my427cobra]

Yeah, the correct clamp for the wrenches. Where to find those or how to "describe" it for e-bay?

And what color was the jack painted? I've seen the pics and it seems to be some shade of grey/dove grey?

And the jackhandles are black. Right?

And by the way, XK's Unlimited in San Luis Obispo has a good selection of clips for the jack, jack handles and grease gun in their XK120/140/150 catalgue. I'm going there tomorrow to check them out.

Using the pics from CSX3360, I scaled measurements of the tool roll and I'm going to ask my upholsterer to make oneup for me. Looks like it has one center tie.

Cheers
Greg

[mickmate]

Better deal on clips here Grease Gun Clips Grease Gun Clips [] - $26.00 : Acton Custom Enterprises, Custom Metal for Cobras

[my427cobra]

Thanks Mikemate. Yup, a better deal. Any pics of the jack clip? I
may have to check the ones out at XK's.

Cheers
Greg

[my427cobra]

So I went over to my local British Car shop to get a few grommets and got talking with the owner about British car tool kits and commonality in general across various British cars and Cobras.

So he says: "What do you need?"

Now I've seen his backroom full of vintage parts, and in he goes and comes out with a Shelley 12DL jack (rusty but in great shape) with the curved "saddle" top and the correct 2 piece jack handle and tommey bar. WOW.

Now it's not a Shelley LJ22, but I'm happy with a 12DL. And I rarely see the handle on e-bay.

Now to clean it up and find the right color grey paint.

Funny though, he does high end restorations on lot of British cars but he has never seen any ELORA spanners.

Greg

[LMH]

Nice find! Does the jack fit under the car if the tire is flat?
Larry

[my427cobra]

Hi Larry. Not according to the period magazine articles. For road travel I got off e-bay an aluminum scissors jack and wheel chocks off a 1990's Nissan 300zx twin turbo. Small, light , polishes up nice and low profile and about a 12 -14" lift.

Greg

[LMH]

Great idea for functional!
Larry

[my427cobra]

Here's apic of one of my spanners. Is this the correct style for the 427's?

Cheers
Greg

[mickmate]

Is it BSW on the other side?

[my427cobra]

Hi mickmate. These ELORA 100 spanners say "CHROME VANADIUM" on the back side in a diagonal imprint. Just like the ones shown in the attached CSX3360 pic.

Cheers
Greg

[mickmate]

Hey Greg I'm talking about the spanner sizes. Yours says AF (across flats) they should read W (Whitworth) and BS (British Standard) the size on the spanner refers to the thread size of the fastener.

Note the bullet shaped imprint vs the rounded end rectangle. Also note the spanners are the same size jaw opening with the different sizing system numbers shown.

[mickmate]

So while you're googling BS to see if that's what I'm doing here's another two styles of Elora 100's.

[my427cobra]

Hi mickmate . You are a constant source of info. I was referencing the pics from Bruce Canepa's restoration of CSX3360 that shows the style of spanner that has the "AF" size only on the "ELORA 100 W-GERMANY" side and no size on the "CHROME-VANADIUM" back side, all in the diagonal impressions.

Could there have been variations in the spanners supplied at the time?

Cheers
Greg

[xb-60]

Nick - do CSX2xxx cars have BSW and/or BSF threads throughout the body and chassis, and then I'm assuming AN fine and coarse threads on the engine and gearbox?
Cheers,
Glen

[Cobra #3170]

Originally Posted by mickmate

So while you're googling BS to see if that's what I'm doing here's another two styles of Elora 100's.

Hey Nick,

My spanners say CHROM - VANDIUM with a radius at each end of the imprint.
The other side has the thread size stamped in a circle and the entire wrench is polished. It says ElORA No 100 made in west Germany with a radius at each end of the stamping. They look different than the finish on Canepa's spanners. The only thing I know for certain is they came out of the tool kit in my car which was an early car. Believe it or not I saved a bunch of those crappy Witworth bolts when I redid the suspension but unfortunately I didn't save more than about 50%, If only I had known.

[my427cobra]

My head is exploding. Variation based on availability must have been the name of the game back then.

I'm getting a drink.
Cheers
Greg