are you driving a car that will kill you?

[jerryweichers]

in spight of my ongoing legal battle with kirkham motor sports aka op investments ... a nevada corporation . i am truelly concerned for the welfare of those out their driving kms and shelby kit cars assembled with grade 5 bolts. recently in a thread responded to by computerworks carroll smith was quoted as essentially saying metal does not have molecules . well as much respect as i have for the genious of carroll smith he was not a a scientist and according to my research everything is made up of molecules . any way i digress . if you are driving around in your kit cobra capable of in excess of 150 miles per hour and it is assembled with grade 5 hardware please for the sake of your family park it in the garage untill you repace it with hardware capable of keeping you safe!!!!! fit the bolts (sae fine only there is no place in a hi performance car for a coarse bolt) for grip length put an aircraft washer under the head and nut of course using only an nylocks and drive the hell out of it because now you have done what you can do to make your car safe. if you have questions feel free to e mail me at jerryweichers@yahoo.com or call me after 7,pm at 5416611963..... have fun but be safe ,jerry

[Brent Mills]

Good points...Too bad your real motive is so thinly veiled.

That said, I just wrecked my Kirkham last week, and it is simply amazing that there was no damage and a testament to the quality of their product. http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/show...threadid=64516

I have been under my car before and after the accident and have yet to find crap bolts on any critical component (then again, I'm not a "scientist"). I do agree that it is important stuff, and something to check, but....If you're really concerned about the members here, maybe you shouldn't even mention KMS and Shelby, as it is a generic issue that anyone should consider.

I sure as heck hope you don't think we're all as stupid as your posts seem to presume.

[jerryweichers]

brent i have never questioned the quality of your friends product only their business tactics. i will say however i would question the wisdom of redesigning fords design of the 427 cobra suspension the first time a manufacture used CAD . a company with liability insurance. redesigned by a company with admittedly no engineering degree and no liability insurance as of december 2001 building billet au suspension for cars capable of in excess of 150 miles per hour . i have restored and built multiple concours/ race winning cobras,can am and fia race cars as well as a bunch of original zo6 63 corvettes my credentials speak for themselves why do you feel a need to disparige me because i feel a need to warn your membership against driviing race cars on imperfect platforms, i am happy you were' nt hurt . from what i have heard of the incident it was driver error and not componet failure so absent your accusation of my motives being'' thinly vailed'' which i think if you check with the people who know me , have done business with me, and are driving cars i built will prove you wrong . do you want some referances? i will be happy to provide them, or maybe you should check me out and when satisfied send me your wrecked car to restore. i' make it a whole lot better than new. best wishes, jerry

[Brent Mills]

You don't question the quality of KMS or Shelby, yet you call them out with regards to your first post and your "concern" for the members....Seemed like good generic advice not specific to any manufacturer if you ask me, but then again, it doesn't seem you care about the members as much as you care about serving your agenda. I don't care if people have negative things to say about KMS or Shelby or any other manufacturer (no car is perfect; even the originals), but when it is so clear that you are manipulating the group, it just irks me.

Driver error, yes...I was driving in the rain on oil which if I had known before hand, I wouldn't have made that "error" if you cared to read....Maybe you can teach me how to drive without error on water and oil sometime. After the wreck (not just a little spinout), I drove another ~2000 miles on the imperfect platform.

I don't need references for you, and quite frankly, you may be the greatest guy in the world, but you sure don't come off that way....It is very apparent that you're here to serve your own interests, which by itself is quite ok (every manufacturer who frequents this site is here to serve their own interests to some degree), but I find your approach an insult to my intelligence and to the other members here. As an example, had you spoken generically about the importance of top shelf parts/bolts/components, well, the group and me would be happy to discuss, share insights, and generally drive ourselves to safer cars....Instead, your approach is obviously all about getting in your licks and we're all too stupid to see it. If I'm all wrong and this is really a KMS/Shelby ONLY issue, I'll retract my statements. If it really is your love for the people here, just edit your post so everyone can get some benefit from it (instead of just the imperfect Shelby and KMS platforms), as I think it's definately a good topic for the group as a whole to consider.

Again, great advice, and thanks for the input, but please assume we're smarter than you've given us credit for to this point.

[John McMahon]

GRADE 8 SAE FINE BOLTS?????? WE DON'T NEED NO STEENKING GRADE 8 SAE FINE BOLTS!!!!!!!!!!

[Dan Case]

Brent,
Chassis fasteners are critical components. They can literally be a life or death issue. I would suggest that CC find a representative from one of the big manufacturers (SPS, Holo-Krome, Textron, Unbrako, etc.) to offer advice on chassis fasteners.

Maybe CC should have a forum on fasteners?

[computerworks]

Originally posted by Dan Case




Maybe CC should have a forum on fasteners?

It is a good, solid topic that, I am sure, many have questions about.

Right now, the Shop Talk Forum is the best place to have that discussion...

...and that's where I am moving this thread.

Ron
ClubCobra Moderator

[Gasman]

Originally posted by GeorgiaSnake


(harder) is better.

Randy

[Russ Dickey]

Originally posted by jerryweichers


i have restored and built multiple concours/ race winning cobras,can am and fia race cars as well as a bunch of original zo6 63 corvettes my credentials speak for themselves

Too bad your english, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and typing skills don't speak for themselves. I can barely stand to read your posts. You're as bad as some of the ricer-kids that I converse with on local street racing forums...

[Tom Kirkham]

Originally posted by jerryweichers


brent i have never questioned the quality of your friends product only their business tactics. i will say however i would question the wisdom of redesigning fords design of the 427 cobra suspension the first time a manufacture used CAD . a company with liability insurance. redesigned by a company with admittedly no engineering degree and no liability insurance as of december 2001 building billet au suspension for cars capable of in excess of 150 miles per hour . i have restored and built multiple concours/ race winning cobras,can am and fia race cars as well as a bunch of original zo6 63 corvettes my credentials speak for themselves why do you feel a need to disparige me because i feel a need to warn your membership against driviing race cars on imperfect platforms, i am happy you were' nt hurt . from what i have heard of the incident it was driver error and not componet failure so absent your accusation of my motives being'' thinly vailed'' which i think if you check with the people who know me , have done business with me, and are driving cars i built will prove you wrong . do you want some referances? i will be happy to provide them, or maybe you should check me out and when satisfied send me your wrecked car to restore. i' make it a whole lot better than new. best wishes, jerry

[Steve Kirkham]

Originally posted by jerryweichers


in spight of my ongoing legal battle with kirkham motor sports aka op investments ... a nevada corporation . i am truelly concerned for the welfare of those out their driving kms and shelby kit cars assembled with grade 5 bolts. recently in a thread responded to by computerworks carroll smith was quoted as essentially saying metal does not have molecules . well as much respect as i have for the genious of carroll smith he was not a a scientist and according to my research everything is made up of molecules . any way i digress . if you are driving around in your kit cobra capable of in excess of 150 miles per hour and it is assembled with grade 5 hardware please for the sake of your family park it in the garage untill you repace it with hardware capable of keeping you safe!!!!! fit the bolts (sae fine only there is no place in a hi performance car for a coarse bolt) for grip length put an aircraft washer under the head and nut of course using only an nylocks and drive the hell out of it because now you have done what you can do to make your car safe. if you have questions feel free to e mail me at jerryweichers@yahoo.com or call me after 7,pm at 5416611963..... have fun but be safe ,jerry

[ERA Chas]

Instead of beating all of us brainless sheep to death with your technological wisdom, financial acumen, integrity, automotive achievements, legal tenacity,
milk-of-human-kindness concern for our welfare, agenda-laden insights and unsolicited education-

PLEASE, JUST GO AWAY.

Few if any of the 18,000+ members here feel the need and actually do pontificate
on such painful and self-serving topics as you do.

PLEASE, GO AWAY.

[Ford of France]

It might be of interest to Jerry that his statement regarding liability insurance (the KMS people, according to him, have none) is undoubtedly in error. I suspect what he means is that they don't have "product liability" insurance (they may for all I know).

What I do know is that most companies that manufacturer replicas do not have it. To incorporate that into the manufacturing cost structure is prohibitive and would add a considerable amount to each car manufactured.

[Maricopa]

Funny that this shmoe didn't give a crap if we all died in fiery wrecks BEFORE all this Kirkham stuff came up.

[ToyCollector]

Since the topic was raised and we have had two of the Kirkhams post on the thread--Does Kirkham Motorsports or OP Investments (the holding company) have product liability insurance? This is another great qualifying questions when buying a replica for people to consider.

It is also related to hardware failures and the importance of quality materials which I am glad as an owner is being discussed as the Kirkhams seem to take some care in selection of these materials. An excellent topic for all manufacturers and owners to be cogniscent of. I do know the Kirkhams were kind enough to insist and ship out Aviation grade bolts for my driveshaft yoke. A simple yes/no answer is fine. I assume no answer will be a "no".

[427sharpe]

It is obvious to anybody who has ever had even a passing interest in engineering that the hardware is matched to the application! As has been stated so eloquently before, having G8 at every point is not neccessarily a good thing, have G5 at every point is not either. The proper process would be to put G8 where G8 belongs and G5 where G5 belongs. If Jerry is so concerned, I am SURE that he supplied AN bolts at EVERY point in EVERY car his substantial reputation has been built upon. Knowing this as gospel I am also ABSOLUTELY positive that NO car he has every graced with his touch has EVER had a failure of this type. I have been AMAZED at the number of hits this site has taken about Cobra's breaking bolts and bursting into fireballs with intensities rivaling the Texas sun in August.
As I am SOOOOO concerned with all of the Kirkham owner's safety, I will, ABSOLUTELY FREE OF CHARGE, agree to stress test each and every nut, bolt and fastener on EVERY SINGLE car they have built here at my home in Texas! But WAIT....there's MORE! To illustrate my concerned citizenship for my fellow man, I INSIST that I be allowed to test every KMP BEFORE it is delivered to the customer so I can insure the safety of the owner! And if I DONT get to test all of them, i'll SUE! And Brent, since yours is OBVIOUSLY an accident waitng to happen, I already dispatched a recovery truck to tow it down here to test FIRST.
Now, I can handle all the KMP's....who will take the orig CSX's? ERA's? Contemporary?FFR?Everett-Morrison?Superformance?
Guys, there are TOO many loose bolts in this place nowadays!

ps: If ANYBODY can't sleep at night for fear of their KMP....CALL ME!

[Buzzmobile]

What I love....is that this forum can take an absolute crap post and actually turn it into a learning experience. I am amazed everytime I get on here and start reading the posts how much experience there is here. Thanks
Buzz

[Brent Mills]

Buzzmobile, you are so correct!

Might be interesting to lay out types/grades of fasteners to use per component on the car. Would probably give me/us a better perspective on this issue.

[flipper35]

It was my impression that those metals listed onthe periodic table are atoms and molecules are combinations of atoms. So iron or nickel are made of atoms, not molecules. Brass would be made of molecules I suppose.

Oh yeah, I am driving a car that could kill me. A 1998 Cavalier.

[Fred Douglass]

...."My wife thinks I'm NUTS when I BOLT outta me wee hoos, jump into the Butler and THREAD my way COARSELY out into traffic!"

There! I used all the critical terms in one sentence, Casa! Send the prize to my address.

P.S. If'n ya cain't read this, STOP TAKIN' THEM BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PILLS, BUBBA!!!! Ar-ar-ar-ar-ar-ooooo!!!!!