Mark III Build

[blykins]

Good idea to put the thermostat on....otherwise the engine would probably run too cool. I've never seen a street Cobra that needed an oil cooler.

[Detroit Bill]

Originally Posted by blykins

Good idea to put the thermostat on....otherwise the engine would probably run too cool. I've never seen a street Cobra that needed an oil cooler.

I had read that. With as much as I have in this the extra couple hundred won't make a dent.

[jeffgrice]

Bill - great progress - Congrats!! Jeff

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by Detroit Bill

I may be stepping out on a limb here but I think I will be "burning fuel are crushing bugs" next week. I am working remotely and having problems posting photos but I added a couple to my gallery showing actual progress and Olthoffs level of detail. I am very Ready to MAKE SOME NOISE! Buckle up!

Good progress on a great looking car - we're all anxiously waiting for a 'first drive' report!

[Detroit Bill]

Originally Posted by cycleguy55

Good progress on a great looking car - we're all anxiously waiting for a 'first drive' report!

Thanks, there is no one more anxiously awaiting the first drive then me! Trust me. I have the Gopro locked and loaded.

[Detroit Bill]

Got the car, got it inspected and registered without too much drama. Put 150 miles on in two days.

Description:
Visceral
Violent
Raw
Pure
Fun

It is what I expected. The perception of speed and acceleration is completely different than the Porsche I sold. Much more exciting and violent.

The engine runs well, runs at 80C when being aggressive, climbing to 90 sitting at a light. I believe that is 174-194F. The oil runs below 100 (212F) most of the time so the oil thermostat which opens at 215F is perfect for keeping the engine in the right operating range. All these numbers are at outside temp of 90F. Cruising in fifth it goes below 80C.

I have only taken it to 5K. Trying to get some miles on the Tremec. And some miles under my belt before I go nuts. First is a short shift, second will hold full throttle sometimes, third will hold full throttle most of the time. For the most part I am shifting at 4500 right now having a hard time imagining shifting at 5800.

I am impressed with the Michelin PS so far. They look good and are holding the power well.

Today which is day two of driving I had a little trouble with third. If you try and manipulate it in it gets "Notchie". The Olthoff video showing the open palm push is right on if you do that it goes right in.

I do have a bit of an oil leak which I believe is a valve cover. I hope to resolve that soon since I store the car on a drive on lift and park underneath it.

I will have some photos and video soon. I am a little particular in this area so it will take some time.

I do want to mount a fire extinguisher on the back bulkhead between the seats.
I have not worked with a lot of fiberglass. Should I just use a sheet metal screw or should I through bolt?

There is a clear plastic fuel filter under the car I am also going to upgrade. Finally I am going to try black plastidip splats. If I don't like it they peal off no harm done. I'll likely end up with clear bra.

Finally what a PIA to wash. No wipping out the hose on that one.

So far so good it is what I expected, the wife also went for a ride and enjoyed it.

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by Detroit Bill

I do want to mount a fire extinguisher on the back bulkhead between the seats.
I have not worked with a lot of fiberglass. Should I just use a sheet metal screw or should I through bolt?

I've toyed with the idea of 'molly' type expandable anchors (http://www.grainger.com/product/WESTWARD-Hollow-Wall-Anchor-WP57878/_/N-/Ntt-molly+anchors?nls=1&nlsIt=0.8&ssf=2&sst=subset&sug gestConfigId=6&s_pp=false&picUrl=//static.grainger.com/rp/s/is/image/Grainger/11K355_AS01?$smthumb$) or 'blind jack nuts' (STAINLESS STEEL BLIND JACK NUTS / IMPERIAL RIVETS & FASTENERS CO., INC.), but haven't tried them due to the possibility of creating stress cracks in the fiberglass.

I have a tool to set Rivnuts or blind nuts, but have never used it in fiberglass, as I believe it would stress fiberglass even more than would molly anchors. I found an old dune buggy thread where they debate the issue, and it seems their consensus is similar to mine: bolting things to fiberglass

Any of the above would probably work if you used a metallic backing plate behind the fiberglass, but if you're going to do that it may be just as easy (or easier) to through-bolt it.

Given the weight of a fire extinguisher and the G-forces it will be exposed to, I'd be inclined to through-bolt it. I through-bolted the electric fuel pump in my trunk, and it weighs a lot less than a fire extinguisher.

On another note, sounds like the first drive(s) have fulfilled your expectations - at least so far. Enjoy.

Good to hear your wife enjoys it - mine says she enjoys it far more than she thought she would. Then again, she's one of those people that jumped out of a perfectly good aircraft - for fun.

[Detroit Bill]

I think I will through bolt with a plate,thanks.

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by Detroit Bill

I think I will through bolt with a plate,thanks.

Best way to do it Bill.

Be careful as you get the miles so you do not get "complacent" with the power level on a 90" wheelbase car........it can and will bite you! The guy who owns the company that does my local installs was taking a car to a garage for storage when he cranked second gear a little too much and suddenly he was looking at me through the windshield (I was following him) and caused a "fresh shorts" moment!

[Detroit Bill]

I think I had a best traction possible scenario. As the temp drops so does the grip.

[patrickt]

Regarding your oil leak, the most common spot for FEs to leak a little oil is on the passenger side, inside corner (towards the firewall), where the head, manifold, and valve cover all meet up. All FE oil leaks tend to migrate back, drip off the bell housing, and look like rear seal leaks. Just use a white dinner napkin to wipe along the valve cover, and where the intake manifold meets at the head, and see if you don't have an oil stain on the napkin. If you see anything, then that's where it's leaking. You know, Ford had a policy at the dealership that a few drops from an FE was "commercially reasonable." So, if you brought your car back to them because it leaked a drop or two you were basically SOL. The fact that you have your DD underneath your Cobra makes it a little tougher -- you might have to rig up a diaper or what not.

[Detroit Bill]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Regarding your oil leak, the most common spot for FEs to leak a little oil is on the passenger side, inside corner (towards the firewall), where the head, manifold, and valve cover all meet up. All FE oil leaks tend to migrate back, drip off the bell housing, and look like rear seal leaks. Just use a white dinner napkin to wipe along the valve cover, and where the intake manifold meets at the head, and see if you don't have an oil stain on the napkin. If you see anything, then that's where it's leaking. You know, Ford had a policy at the dealership that a few drops from an FE was "commercially reasonable." So, if you brought your car back to them because it leaked a drop or two you were basically SOL. The fact that you have your DD underneath your Cobra makes it a little tougher -- you might have to rig up a diaper or what not.

This is more than a few drops. I will give it a good look tonight. I believe it is coming from the front of the left valve cover (left if sitting in the drivers seat). One valve cover bolt was removed to hold a bracket during engine install maybe that caused it. I snugged the bolts yesterday morning. I have chrome Pentroofs on it. If they continue to leak I may go to Blue Thunder Competition covers.

[Detroit Bill]

The light was not right and the car was not clean but I took what I could get.

Not sure about the spinners yet. I think I want to make them mostly black.

[66gtk]

Your spinners look perfect to me. I love the contrast. Nice car, and I'm glad you are enjoying it. I have about 1000 miles under my belt between 3 Cobras I've driven in the last year. If you want to live through the fun, always be mindful that they want to kill you. I never did find the floor behind the gas pedal in either of them, and 5K RPM was always "enough" for me, too. With more and more seat time, confidence and skill improve quickly. I never did have a "pucker" moment yet, and am happy about that. Plenty of fun to have in these cars under 60 MPH, unlike my late model supercharged Shelby.

[Detroit Bill]

I am thoroughly enjoying the Cobra. One of this things I am enjoying the most is owning a car I can work on. The last time I owned a car I could work on I was ~22 and it was a SS396 Camaro I bought when I was 17. I have a list of things I want to accomplish.

I have thoughly enjoyed driving the car. I Have never owned a convertible. I guess I still don't, I did not buy a top. Open air adds to the experience for sure.


I have limited my antics to a straight line for now. I have driven a lot of fast cars and motorcycles and I am limiting the potential for crazy. Today I did pull a gear to redline for sure. The power curve is amazingly linear. It feels like it pulls from 2500 to 6000 without pause. I am not used to that kind of power curve. It makes it hard to know when to shift by sound. Day One and two I shifted by sound and when I finally looked down I realized I was shifting at 4,500 rpm! LOL..

Today I sprayed on fender splats with Plastic Dip. A spray coating that can be peeled off. Pretty easy stuff to work with the difficult parts is that you can't tape it off and spray 4 coats. You have to spray a coat wait a few minutes and peel the spray line. It is a PIA but knowing it is temporary make it a bit less of a pressure thing. I did flat black and it looks good with my color scheme.

Anyhow I have some video going I am experimenting with the best camera and microphone position. When I get it dialed in I will share.

[Detroit Bill]

The view out of my office window today

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by Detroit Bill

The view out of my office window today

Yeah, I really hate that look <sarcasm>. The size of a Cobra still floors me when I see one (mine or another) parked next to, quite frankly, pretty much anything. They seem so small from the outside, yet big enough from the inside.

Last week I went to give blood (75th whole blood donation, BTW) and parked it in a visible location on the side of a fairly busy street about a block away. When I was done giving blood and walking back to the car I could see it from about a half block away and reminded again of how low it is - particularly relative to its width. This is the view motorists see when approaching from behind, and I'm sure many see it and wonder WTH is that - though of course the '66COBRA' license plate is a bit of a giveaway once they get close enough to read that.

I'm sure you've already heard it, but I also get a lot of comments about the size of the engine when the hood is open, to which my normal response is: "It's a small car wrapped around a big engine."

Always fun.

[MYF]

Sharp car - congratulations!

[Brooklyn-427]

Yeah for the physical presence the cobra has its such a small car compared to the large modern cruisers of modern times

[Detroit Bill]

I have a pretty bad vibration in the steering wheel from 60-70. It is intermittent. This tells me there is likely an imbalance in both wheels and when the imbalances align you get a bad shimmy. When they offset each other it goes away or is reduced.

I called the local tire dealer and started asking questions. The answers I got were not satisfactory. The service writer then suggested that they might not be the right place. I then called the Porsche dealer, I have had a couple Porsche's and have a relationship with them. As I discussed it with them they suggested they are also not the right place. They pointed me to Auto Europe. The local Morgan, Lotus dealer. I called them and they picked up on what I was saying immediately and offered a road force balance for $50 a wheel.

This morning I dropped off the wheels and the manager commented that the wheels were "static balanced" There was one string of weights not inside and outside weights. Hopefully this takes care of the problem because that is not a good feeling.

There are two kinds of fast, my Porsche 911 (991) was trust me fast. At any speed you felt in control. The Cobra at this point is far from trust me fast. I might call it hair on fire fast. I have no hair so it is not too painful. But it does not inspire confidence.