Alloy Hi-Tech Build

[cobrakiwi]

More work completed on this one, finished the transmission tunnel and fire wall panels.
New Dash panel fabricated and fitted, we now have all the alloy panels from the firewall back finished up and fitted.

[1795]

Looking great! It's not that far away from getting the rubber on the road. Just in time for nice weather.

[cobrakiwi]

Next up on this build we would like to get the exhaust fitted, this entails cutting big holes in the side of the car
I went ahead and installed Kevin's engine just to make sure everything was going to lineup and work.
Well we hopped that anyway as a lot of $$ was spent at the previous shop on the header and side pipes, well no surprise really that the exhaust was not going to work.
In the pictures you can see the primary pipes are just to far off to work with the slip joint, the welding is junk as well. (just unbelievable what some people pass off as work)
We are going to start from scratch and build new headers and install a set of nice flowing mufflers.

[cobrakiwi]

Measure twice, cut once!
Time to start the exhaust.

[Blue66]

Craig are you goin to make a jig for the headers ?? Sad when ya pay for something an it comes out like that. I got a set for my original 427 years ago from Gordon Gimbel / Cobra Performance . They fit like a glove.

[ACademic]

I’d pay money just to observe you working. No questions, no interruptions and I would stay out of your way. Could learn a ton just watching HOW you fabricate every corner of the car, the tools and techniques utilized, etc. The photographs are wonderful but don’t tell the whole story of the craftsmanship.

[Mongoose930]

Craig has done an excellent job in repairing my sidepipes and fabricating new primary pipes. I was hoping that I would be able to salvage some of the parts that I paid for, but sadly, that has not been the case at all. I paid good money for new Red Shark primary pipes and was told by my former "fabricator" that they were fitted and welded. I then paid more good money to ship them to Nitroplate for high temp ceramic coating only to find out now that they are pretty much scrap. Same for the sidepipes. They were dented, had the wrong size mufflers and the turndowns were incorrectly welded. I have attached some pictures of Craig's work which has once again put this project back on track.

[Mongoose930]

More of Craig's work...

[Mongoose930]

One side done!!!

[Three Peaks]

Nice work. Even though I had never done a set of sidepipes and exhaust headers before, this was one of the most enjoyable and rewarding parts of my scratch build. I had quite a bit of encouragement from a friend who builds headers and sidepipes for Finishline and others and rounded up the parts for me. Even taking them apart and rebuilding several pipes to clear my steering shaft wasn't really a big deal after the initial build was complete. After doing it (once) myself, I can appreciate how much skill it takes for Craig to make this look easy- it definitely isn't .

Great memories watching this build come together...

Bob

[cobrakiwi]

Originally Posted by Blue66

Craig are you goin to make a jig for the headers ?? Sad when ya pay for something an it comes out like that. I got a set for my original 427 years ago from Gordon Gimbel / Cobra Performance . They fit like a glove.

Hi Dan
I do need to make a jig at some point, but it seems no two cars are identical.
It may sound old school but I like to set the pipes up individually this way everything seems to go together.

As I was telling Kevin, I can now install the entire exhaust system and tighten all the header, slip joint and side pipe bolts by hand.

[cobrakiwi]

The inside of the collector was a little rough so spent some time in there

New 3 inch I'd mufflers will allow the big FE breathe

Thanks for the positive comments, both Kevin and I appreciate them.

[1795]

Originally Posted by cobrakiwi

Hi Dan
I do need to make a jig at some point, but it seems no two cars are identical.
It may sound old school but I like to set the pipes up individually this way everything seems to go together.

As I was telling Kevin, I can now install the entire exhaust system and tighten all the header, slip joint and side pipe bolts by hand.

Craig,

While a jig would make it quicker, making each one to fit will help in the long run when it comes time for final fit and finish. Nice work

[cobrakiwi]

Before I tackle the drivers side exhaust the steering needs to be installed.
One of my complete steering systems was fitted with the use of Kevins original style steering joints.
One of our 16 inch steering wheels looks right at home sticking out from the dash.

[cobrakiwi]

I have the exhaust finished on this one.
Nice to have this part of the build completed.
.

[AC Ventura]

Car looks fab. I’m doing a similar installation at the moment. I couldn’t decide on the position of the Master cyls. In the end had them above the pedals on the interior side away from the 1000 c headers. However Im not convinced yours is wrong. A lot of guys run this way.

[LMH]

Craig, do you do the actual cutting of the splines for the steering shafts?
Larry

[cobrakiwi]

Originally Posted by LMH

Craig, do you do the actual cutting of the splines for the steering shafts?
Larry

Hi Larry
I have the shafts made to my spec, then trim to length.

[Mongoose930]

I don't even know where to begin, but Craig has had a very busy and productive week with my Cobra. First off, he modified my new Fluidyne Radiator to have the original style top with the raised center section. See before and after photos - a great original touch...

[Mongoose930]

Next was all of the front end work - oil cooler, quick jacks, cooling ducts...