Cobra Tool Kit - redux

[Jim Maxwell]

So, my opinion is that both the "FOREIGN" and "Made in Italy" screwdrivers were made by the same company. All the screwdrivers I have seen in Cobra tool kits have "made in Italy" on the shaft. I don't know when the transition occurred. the screwdrivers are otherwise identical if they are the same size. There were several different sizes available from Draper Tool at the time.

handle is 3 3/4" in length from the bottom of the ferrule.
Shaft length is 5 3/4" to top of ferrule.
Overall length is 10 3/8".

[LMH]

Greg, the shaft on mine measures just shy of 6". It's a little worn on the tip though. That's from the bottom of the ferrule to the flat tip.
The handle, including ferrule measures 4 5/8" The top of the handle is rounded somewhat, so that's the very top. The handle is just shy of an 1 1/8" across.
HTH,
Larry

[LMH]

Re-measured the shaft and to be more exact, mine measures 5 7/8" from the ferrule to the tip.
Larry

[LMH]

I just want to throw this out there for what it's worth. I've been asked a number of times if I would loan out my entire tool kit (jack, handles, tools/roll, etc) to original owners for concours and/or car shows. I have loaned it out once but that was to an owner I know well and I assisted on the concours prep of his car... but generally, I won't loan it out unless it's to someone I trust. It's taken me too long and too much work to have it disappear or parts of it lost or worse. Nothing personal!
Sorry, just had to put that out there for my own selfishness!
Now back to the show!
Larry

[my427cobra]

Hi Larry. My screwdriver will be slightly bigger than your's and Jim's.


Shaft dia: 10mm
Handle dia (6 flute): 1 5/16"
Handle length (incl ferrule): 6"
Shaft length (bottom of ferrule to end of blade): 6"

Total length: 12" and will fit in my reproduction tool roll

But isn't everything bigger on the 427 cars.

Cheers
Greg

[LMH]

Knowing what I know now, it makes me question the "hand" photo. Simply, it looks too big to be an original. Speaking in very general terms of course as I don't know for sure what came in every car.
Larry

[BLACKJACK]

G'Day, Gents:

A question regarding the "spanners": Will someone be kind enough to give me the correct sizes?? I ordered a set - with the clip and the two Largest spanners are "enormous". The three smaller ones appear to be correct, they also appear to be from a different set.

I tried as best I could to determine the sizes from the pictures on this forum but I'm not sure that I know what I'm doing. (That happens a lot once you turn 80 years old). I'm not familiar with the size designations either.

What I have is: The three that I believe are correct - - -

Chrome Vanadium side - - - - - - ELORA No. 100 side
9/16 X 1/2 - - - - - - - - - - 1/2 X 7/16
BSF BSF - - - - - - - - - - BSW BSW

7/16 X 3/8 - - - - - - - - - - 7/16 X 1/2
BSW BSW - - - - - - - - - - BSF BSF

3/8 X 7/16 - - - - - - - - - 3/8 X 5/16
BSF BSF - - - - - - - - - BSW BSW

These all say "Made in Germany"

The two Spanners that appear to be WAY to large are:

11/16 X 3/4 - - - - - - - - 7/8 X 3/4
BSW BSW - - - - - - - - BSF BSF

5/8 X 9/16 - - - - - - - - - 11/16 X 5/8
BSW BSW - - - - - - - - - BSF X BSF

These two just say "Germany"

ALL of the spanners have the size and shown "letter designation" shown in a rectangular shaped inset. My best guess is that it was a Set of Seven or Eight spanners and the seller sent me the Largest Five rather than the Smallest five. This contention might be supported by the fact that the Clip was designed to hold 7 or 8 spanners.

Assistance, as always , is greatly appreciated.

BLACKJACK

[my427cobra]

Hey Blackjack. Once again, there have been significant discussions on this subject in past threads in the Originality Forum.
Check your spanners out against the pics and descriptions there, or post some CLOSEUP pics of what you have.
I'll post some pics of mine.
The spanners may be less of a perfect science than the screwdrivers.
Have fun.

Cheers
Greg

[BLACKJACK]

Thanks, Greg:

I checked all of the pictures on the site that I could find. They were the source of my analysis material.

The two LARGE spanners look like they might have been used on the Union Pacific Railroad. They're some BIG suckers.

Pictures of Both Sides of the two smaller spanners will probably solve my problem.

Thanks very much.

Jack

[LMH]

This shows the typical five spanners. All are Whitworth sizes. (BSW, BSF)


As Dan said earlier in the thread, if you want to be really accurate in an "as delivered" presentation, the wrenches would need to be wrapped and boxed.
My tool kit has a "used" look to it!

Larry

[BLACKJACK]

Thanks, Larry.

Your pics, which are highly readable, CONFIRM that I have at least TWO of the WRONG spanners. (REALLY BIG ONES). If I can reach the sender through EBay perhaps I can work something out. Worst case scenario - - I'll be In The Market for the two smallest wrenches in your picture. I'll also have for sale - - two larger spanners in case anyone is restoring a Railroad Box Car.

Any thoughts on where I might locate those two smaller spanners will be appreciated.

Y'all have a really great day.

BLACKJACK

[BLACKJACK]

QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS - - - - - -

I really appreciate you guy's patience with a "new-be" to the Tool Kit Game.

1. My Grease Gun appears to be "correct". The end cap reads GB-2800. The grease gun is painted a "hammer tone green". 80% + paint is in tact. I'm not sure if I should clean it up and leave it alone - OR - find the right paint and re-paint it ???

1-A. The End Cap appears to have NO paint on it. If I paint the Grease Gun should I paint the end cap as well or leave it as is???

2. The Spanners that I have are a bit rough and I'd like to have them "plated". Any thoughts - Nickel - Chrome - Or ??? Brite Reflective or Dull finish ??? It's hard to tell what they were originally.

The King Dick pliers that I have will likely not "clean-up" well. I will have them plated for sure.

Authenticity in the set is important but so is 'consistency', i.e. all new appearing or all original appearing.

I really appreciate your knowledge and counsel.

Y'all have a really great day.

BLACKJACK

[LMH]

My grease gun cap is not painted.
Here's the deal with restoring or over-restoring. If everything in the kit looks absolutely perfect, it's obviously not 50 years old. I worked on the concours prep of an original leaf spring car for an event in Phoenix last January. The thing I kept pointing the owner towards was not to over restore the car. A concours is not a car show per se and since his car was a driver, I thought we should go the route of survivor rather than day-one brand new. (we missed placement by one point due to a perfect Allard... damit!) So it's really up to you as to what you're trying to replicate. Do you want it day one perfect or 50 year old authentic, in terms of looks?
Larry

[BLACKJACK]

Thanks, Larry.

I appreciate your comments and your insight. My problem is some of my tools - the pliers in particular - are in bad enough shape that re-plating is really a 'must' and the jack, which sports a nice coat of rust, really needs re-painting.

The hammer looks almost brand new as does the screwdriver

The spanners and the grease gun would clean up pretty well and fit nicely into your protocol. My thoughts were to have them all look "similar" and as though they belonged to the same tool kit from the beginning.

Thanks.

Jack

[LMH]

As far as I know and every tool kit I've examined, has had BDS pliers. Mine has the remnants of what looks like black paint or possibly Parkerizing on the edges of the handles. The flat part of the jaws were ground shinny but are otherwise bare. The BDS emblem is stamped into the flat part.
I have my jack painted Ford Machinery Grey. It appears to be how the jack in 2367 is finished. Rusty Shelley jacks are the norm nowadays. Jack handles would be black.
I would probably clean up the other tools but possibly repaint the grease gun.
Larry

[BLACKJACK]

Thanks, Larry.

My pliers look and measure Exactly like the pictures of the BDS pliers. Every detail is exact. They have:

KING DICK
Made in England

stamped on the 'flat part'. The lettering is barely discernible - with a bright light and magnifying glass. It's more than probable that whether I "clean them up" or have them re-plated, they will disappear completely. The handles (grips) on mine appear to have been painted black. The "business end" of the pliers - down to the "VEE" - seems to have been bare metal due to the evenness of the rust coating. I used a Gun Smith's scrubbing pad to clean off some of the rust and the lettering became slightly more visible. Perhaps some chemical cleaner will improve it further.

I am VERY impressed with the quality of the pliers. Even in their neglected condition they are still strong, smooth operating and the mating edges of all of the operating surfaces align perfectly.

Thanks for your help.

Jack

[LMH]

It'll work for sure. It's common for tool companies to buy from other manufacturers and sell them as their own brand. Shelley, King Dick and BDS have all done it. It's quite possible that they are actually the same pliers with the KD logo.
When you get it all together, post a photo and we'll pick it apart piece by piece!
Larry

[BLACKJACK]

Thanks, Larry.

Will Do.

Jack

[legenmetals]

Missed out on a genuine screwdriver about six months back, it had the BDS sticker and was marked foreign.

[LMH]

Very nice! My pliers have the three circles around the BDS but look the same otherwise.
Larry