building a cobra from basically scratch

[boxhead]

As long as you promise not to be offended.

First pictures show headers, these I realise are not a structural part of the vehicle but they look nasty how they are skinny then flare out then back into skinny. I realise you "get away with it" because they are wrapped under the header tape, but if I personally was to sell someone a car knowing it was like that, I would be embarassed.

The chassis rail below the headers looks like a lump of 4x2 that I would make a box trailer out of.

Have you added any strengthening to pedal area yet, that glass will flex, and under a heavy brake application, may just push the master cylinder off the firewall. It will need more than a piece of steel bonded into the area.

You where asked about a tailshaft loop, your reply was "If this was MY car I would, But I'm building this car to turn a profit and keep my boss happy. My boss want's me to do everything half ass, but I refuse to" yet you say you refuse to do anything not right? What is it?

It looks like you have hoses cable tied to brake pipes?

The small bracket that looks to be holding hand brake cable, weld looks decent but that will be a fair bit of weight when the car is vibrating down the road. pretty sure that over time that weld will flex and crack.

You have modified a factory control arm, that would straight up be a fail for rego in Australia, weather you have strengthened it or not.

That is a very big angle on the steering uni joint, I am not sure but I thought no more that 30 degrees was the norm?
I see your looking at fixing that so hope all turns out well there.

As I said, maybe we over do it in Oz? and like yourself I too am a qualified motor mechanic, been waving spanners as a tech since 1987.

This is my opinion only, so take it as you will.

[fastraxsg]

borrowed photo for example only

[Wbulk]

In looking at the pictures you posted is not the rear axle about three inches off to the rear, or is it the angle the picture was taken from?

[BBQCYCLEWERKES]

Originally Posted by thefordguy

I have a question I thought of today. I'm not saying any of you are wrong at all. You say metal fatigue and molecular realignment at the weld, driveshafts are welded together and they spin in excess of 6000 RPM all the time. I'm not trying to be a smart ass, I just want to know why a driveshaft welded together is OK but a water pump pulley is not? It spins the same RPM and has much less load. Again, not saying your wrong or trying to be a smart ass, just curious.

A driveshaft is balanced for rotating weight after is it welded. Any misbalance in the pulley will cause fatigue and cracking. Also, there will be tension on the pulley from the belt which will cause addt'l metal fatigue if not balanced. A drive shaft is also welded on a fixture and in most cases computer assisted welding equipment used. This is not only to make the welds pretty but used to set the temp more accurately to decrease the metalurgy issues from welding. I can understand your welding the pulley if this was your car as you would then assume the risk, but this is not the case. You are potentially playing with the life of another person here and if failure accures with damages, you cana be held liable. Just looking out for you as I realize you are doing the best you can. I was young in the auto fabrication field years ago and wished I had more people looking out for me and mentoring me back then. Best of luck and I hope the worst case never happens.

[ACademic]

Originally Posted by mickmate

Windshield angle should be 45 deg at the centre of the glass. Spend a minute getting that right as it makes a huge difference to the appearance of the car.

Mickmate, I wish EVERY manufacturer of replicas would figure out how to do that one adjustment consistently. To me that separates a really dorky looking replica from a more period correct one. That and the angle of the rear-facing downtube on the roll-bar.

OP, keep at it, kid! Your boss would squeeze a buffalo nickel until it $#it a dime!

[thefordguy]

Originally Posted by boxhead

As long as you promise not to be offended.

First pictures show headers, these I realise are not a structural part of the vehicle but they look nasty how they are skinny then flare out then back into skinny. I realise you "get away with it" because they are wrapped under the header tape, but if I personally was to sell someone a car knowing it was like that, I would be embarassed.

The chassis rail below the headers looks like a lump of 4x2 that I would make a box trailer out of.

Have you added any strengthening to pedal area yet, that glass will flex, and under a heavy brake application, may just push the master cylinder off the firewall. It will need more than a piece of steel bonded into the area.

You where asked about a tailshaft loop, your reply was "If this was MY car I would, But I'm building this car to turn a profit and keep my boss happy. My boss want's me to do everything half ass, but I refuse to" yet you say you refuse to do anything not right? What is it?

It looks like you have hoses cable tied to brake pipes?

The small bracket that looks to be holding hand brake cable, weld looks decent but that will be a fair bit of weight when the car is vibrating down the road. pretty sure that over time that weld will flex and crack.

You have modified a factory control arm, that would straight up be a fail for rego in Australia, weather you have strengthened it or not.

That is a very big angle on the steering uni joint, I am not sure but I thought no more that 30 degrees was the norm?
I see your looking at fixing that so hope all turns out well there.

As I said, maybe we over do it in Oz? and like yourself I too am a qualified motor mechanic, been waving spanners as a tech since 1987.

This is my opinion only, so take it as you will.

Thanks for the input.

I know the headers look like s##t, I had a box of 45 bent tubing and a welder to build them I did the best I could.

The cassie rail is 4x2 and I did not make the frame, I just added on to it. All of the 4x2 you see was what I got as the "frame" I believe it to be structurally sound, but definitely not factory looking.

pedal assembly has 6x10 inch 3/16 plate on the cockpit side and 8x10 3/16 plate on the top of the pedal assembly as suggested by someone here.

I don't believe not having a driveshaft loop is half ass, most cars on the road (at least here in america) don't have them.

Yes I do, don't see the problem.

I don't have any welded brackets holding the hand brake cable, I'm not sure which bracket your talking about.

If its strengthening it then whats the problem? I replaced 4 times the area of steel taken away with 3 times thicker metal.

I modified the power steering bracket today so the pump sits lower, as it sits I have 31 degrees on the joint. I've read 35 is the max. but it's still not set in stone.

To be ASE master certified here. All you have to do is pass I think 9 tests and have two years of experience and my schooling counts as one year. Experience is the key to being a good mechanic I think. You have been a mechanic since before I was even born. I know I have a lot to learn. And I'm sure I ask a lot of dumb questions. But I want to learn as much as I can, that's why I'm on this forum, If I didn't care then I wouldn't have bothered spending my little free time I have talking and posting pics of stuff I do at work. I don't get paid for this, I just want the stuff I do to be right, which is why I am glad to hear negative responses as well as good ones. Just let me know what I'm doing wrong, why it's wrong so I understand, and I'll do my best to fix it.

thanks again

[thefordguy]

Originally Posted by fastraxsg

borrowed photo for example only

Ya, Mine is way to far forward. thanks for the pic.

[thefordguy]

Originally Posted by Wbulk

In looking at the pictures you posted is not the rear axle about three inches off to the rear, or is it the angle the picture was taken from?

It's the angle of the pic. The rear wheels are centered to the wheel well. My boss just got wheels that are too skinny for the wheel wells which is probably why it looks off in the pic. the front wheels are actually a little far forward in the wheel well, but my co worker is going to add some fiberglass to the rear well to center it up.

[thefordguy]

Originally Posted by BBQCYCLEWERKES

A driveshaft is balanced for rotating weight after is it welded. Any misbalance in the pulley will cause fatigue and cracking. Also, there will be tension on the pulley from the belt which will cause addt'l metal fatigue if not balanced. A drive shaft is also welded on a fixture and in most cases computer assisted welding equipment used. This is not only to make the welds pretty but used to set the temp more accurately to decrease the metalurgy issues from welding. I can understand your welding the pulley if this was your car as you would then assume the risk, but this is not the case. You are potentially playing with the life of another person here and if failure accures with damages, you cana be held liable. Just looking out for you as I realize you are doing the best you can. I was young in the auto fabrication field years ago and wished I had more people looking out for me and mentoring me back then. Best of luck and I hope the worst case never happens.

I'm pretty good friends with my driveshaft guy. I asked him if he could balance the pulley on his machine and he said he could. If it was balanced, would you deem it as acceptable. He said he would do it for free, so if this will work let me know.

Thanks

[thefordguy]

I got the steering joint angle to 31 degrees by modifying the power steering bracket to move the pump lower. I took the car for a test drive today around the bock a couple times. The first time around I took it kinda slow, getting a feel for everything, and watching all of the gauges. I brought it back in, put it on the lift and checked everything out. It all looked good so I made a few adjustments to the carbs and took it for a second drive and purposefully hit a bunch of pot holes to jar the suspension, on the way back I revved it to about 3000 rpm and dropped the clutch doing a massive burn out, hit second still spinning and got it up to about 60 before I let off, then took a corner sideways with the pedal to the floor. It handled surprisingly well, stops well, and takes off like a rocket. I took a pic of the car as I was walking back to it from opening the shop door. I spilled a little brake fluid on the header when I was bleeding the brakes(thats whats smoking) But I put it back on the lift and everything looked good even after putting it through a little hell. I still need to tune the carbs a little. The next test drive I do I will hit the interstate and see how she does at high speeds. oil temp stays at 75 degrees and water at 90 degrees Celsius. Im not sure what that is in Fahrenheit but its not even half way up on the gauge so I think its ok, I got 40 PSI of oil pressure at idle.

[boxhead]

This is the bracket I was reffering too.


You will also see the red cable (assuming this is battery +) looks rather loose in the hold clamps, this will chaff through eventually and earth out, it will take a long time and it will be long gone from your bosses possesion, but still does not make it ok.

And the cable ties on brake pipes will either wear through pipe (unlikely) or they will wear through and what looks to be your fuel line will hang down.
Also the fuel line should be metal tube as much as possable.

Anyway, it is your build and if you believe it or not will have your name attached to it.
When your boss sells it, and if it is involved in a fatality then investigated and found to be poor quality build, I am affraid the buck will stop with you.

As others have said, if it was you and you only driving it, then make it as safe or dodgy (that Ausie phrase again ) as you feel comfortable with, but it is being built to be sold on.

[thefordguy]

Originally Posted by boxhead

This is the bracket I was reffering too.


You will also see the red cable (assuming this is battery +) looks rather loose in the hold clamps, this will chaff through eventually and earth out, it will take a long time and it will be long gone from your bosses possesion, but still does not make it ok.

And the cable ties on brake pipes will either wear through pipe (unlikely) or they will wear through and what looks to be your fuel line will hang down.
Also the fuel line should be metal tube as much as possable.

Anyway, it is your build and if you believe it or not will have your name attached to it.
When your boss sells it, and if it is involved in a fatality then investigated and found to be poor quality build, I am affraid the buck will stop with you.

As others have said, if it was you and you only driving it, then make it as safe or dodgy (that Ausie phrase again ) as you feel comfortable with, but it is being built to be sold on.

that's the bracket for the right rear hydraulic brake line.

I just used those clamps temporarily to route the battery cable so I could run the engine. I later replaced them with clamps like posted below. I guess I forgot to mention that.

So replace the fuel line with a metal one and do away with the zip ties, I can do that. How do you think I should make the brackets for the rear brake lines? I have a piece of angle iron welded to the frame, and the brake line bolted to that piece of angle iron. Should I drill and tap a hole in through the bracket to the frame and put a bolt in it? I don't understand whats wrong with welding.

[G-Pete]

Any updates on that build?

[thefordguy]

Originally Posted by G-Pete

Any updates on that build?

the boss is thinking of closing the doors next month for some reason and he told me to get all of my hours in on the customers cars. He told me he "expected" me to have the car running and driving in three weeks top. it took me two months, I told him that was alot to do in two months! He does not understand at all about cars or anything for that matter. I'm currently looking for other employment or for someone else to take over the shop that isn't a dumb ass. wish me luck!

[boxhead]

Good luck.

[SuperHart]

For what it's worth, my Cobra is scratch built and took more than 10 months to get it on the road. The brain and driving force behind the car is a personal friend of mine, a real genius at these things in my mind. here is the link to the Build Page for anyone who is interested: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/superhart/cobra.htm

[soulsurpher@hot]

Hey dude are you still working for this wierdo? Have you had any more progress?