Superformance MKII, Riverside Racer 289 FIA vintage race car

[Sawdust]

Originally Posted by Mark IV

Also very handy that Roy has an original 289 Cobra in his laundry room......

It's too bad that I never got a chance to see it when Dave and I came down to look at 097

[1795]

Originally Posted by cobrakiwi

Very, very nice! once again congrats. I bet your excitement level is sky hi

Grinning ear to ear. Things are starting to come together. Cannot wait to have it running.

[1795]

Originally Posted by Sawdust

Excellent work guys! It's really coming along. Ross, Roy and Rick fantastic customer service!

Yes they are the best. Learning a lot from them and Dennis Olthoff. I feel like it's the 60's and I have team Shelby behind me. Lot's of knowledge, experience and and a good feel of camaraderie.

[Sawdust]

Originally Posted by 1795

Yes they are the best. Learning a lot from them and Dennis Olthoff. I feel like it's the 60's and I have team Shelby behind me. Lot's of knowledge, experience and and a good feel of camaraderie.

Doesn't get any better than that!

[Moto One]

Being new to the community, it's great to see this kind of camaraderie.

Mark

[1795]

Spent another full day working with Ross and Roy, Rick also provided some sage advice as well when he could be there.

We finished up the front brake adjustments and they should be fine.


We then started to work on the differential getting it ready for mounting. By adding the bracket, drilling the hole for the safety wire in the fill plug and starting to work on the half shafts. I will be painting the Spicer half shafts this afternoon and hopefully will be working on install Friday.



The wok continues...

[Mark IV]

Today is a "no work" day for the FIA race car as we are waiting on some machine work and small parts . Here is 0011 resting on the lift....

[1795]

The last thing for this week was to move forward more with removing the rear brakes and front brakes. All of the Wilwoods are off. The rear rotors are connected slightly different from the front rotors and are on the backside of the hub, similar to the originals. We needed to re-tap the holes in the rear rotors as the rear pins are threaded differently than the originals.


Had to remove the retaining nuts on the rear hubs so that we can remove the Wilwood rotors. An impact wrench, extension and 36 mm socket and now the two retaining nuts are sitting on the end of the hubs so that they are not lost until we get back to it.


Now it is time for Mother's day.

Jim

[Mark IV]

And best wishes to your mother Jim.

[1795]

Thanks Rick. It's tough when you start to think that it may be her last one. Hopefully not.

[66gtk]

nice car - you are moving quickly.

[1795]

Troy,

Thanks. Never have been one to let dust settle on me, but I cannot take all of the credit. I am working with an amazing team. The knowledge and expertise is a wonder to experience. I thoroughly enjoy spending time with them, learning from them and problem solving with Ross, Roy and Rick. There is not a day that I do not learn something.

Spending time with Ross is great. Enjoy listening to his stories and sharing his dream of getting a cobra on the reach track. Have also had regular input with Dennis Olthoff as well. I truly feel like I have the best support I could imagine. Morris has provided some helpful suggestions as well that improve my knowledge and contribute to the build.

This is a team effort and I thank everyone for their support and assistance.

Jim

[1795]

And the work goes on. Ross and I got together yesterday, and we will continue tomorrow with the help of Roy and Rick with the differential installation. While I was waiting for Ross to get across the border, I installed the tow straps on the FIA. Most race organizations require tow points both front and rear. So I attached these straps to the quick jacks and will ziplock the tails in place so that they are not rubbing on the paint while racing.



The we went on to installing the differential. The half shafts have to be removed to clear the frame and frame mounted tow hoops. Here the differential sits on the floor jack with the shafts removed.



Next, it was a series of ups and downs with the floor jack and hoist as we maneuvered the the differential back and forth until we were finally able to secure the two top blots through the mounts.



We are making a few minor adjustments to the lower supporting bracket and will be installing that Friday. Things are moving forward and I plan on having the car back home early next week so that I can start working on the engine and transmission install.

Have a nice holiday weekend!

Jim

[Sawdust]

Jim
Excellent progress! Each day gets you closer to your goal. Say hello to Roy, Rick and Ross for me.

[1795]

Sawdust,

Will do. It's a good thing that I watched a lot of WW II movies that had British characters, being that Ross' parents are English. Therefore, I knew what he was asking for when he wanted a torch and knew that he meant flashlight

I have said it many time, but here it goes again. It is such a pleasure to spend day after day with Ross and to learn from him and exchange ideas. A true innovator and someone who does not settle for close enough. He is always striving to improve what he offers and has a lot f experience to build from.

Jim

[Sawdust]

That's funny. I know the "English" language very well........ The trio are a wealth of knowledge for sure!

[1795]

Well, stupid me, I thought that the couple of things that were supposed to be done by Friday would have been completed, without recalling that this Friday was the start of a holiday weekend. so, the bracket and the brake lines from Classic Tubes will not be ready until Tuesday.

Still, I managed to get a few things accomplished. We noticed that with the 275's in the rear that the inside tire walls were rubbing slightly on the pop rivets, so I ground the rivets down with still leaving enough to keep the panel stable. That should remedy that.



I also finished drilling out and tapping some holes in the lower section of the rear suspension as we had to relocate the heads of some bolts and shorten them to allow for clearance for the rear rotors. I did manage to break on of Rick's taps on Wednesday, but bought a new one and went a little slower this time and completed the other three holes and placed the bolts.



Lastly, here is a picture of the cutout that we had to do in the trunk for the differential due to those cooling fins. A flat plate would have fit, but not this one. we will be fabricating a cover for this. Given that it is a race car, having this opening is actually beneficial, as it allows for easier access to fill the differential and place a breather hose and catch can.



Have a nice holiday weekend.

Jim

[Blas]

DANGER !
Not sure the front and rear tow straps are well placed on the standard Quik-Jacks especially as mounted at 90 degrees to the two mounting rods.
You might want to talk with Ross and Rick on this to confirm.
Any directional movement on the Quik-Jack will destroy the surrounding fiberglass... BIG TIME !

I can speak for the MKIII - and they are cosmetic items only.
Just two simple threaded rods in a decorative SS tube. I would not even recommend standing on one.
Blas

[1795]

Blas,

Talked to Rick and Ross before hand, and they will be fine. These straps are for rolling tows, not for being jacked up by a tow truck. I have used them with a winch to get the car on the trailer with no problem. You are right in that if we were trying to jack the car up with them the fiberglass, like the aluminum on the originals, would suffer.

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by 1795

Blas,

Talked to Rick and Ross before hand, and they will be fine. These straps are for rolling tows, not for being jacked up by a tow truck. I have used them with a winch to get the car on the trailer with no problem. You are right in that if we were trying to jack the car up with them the fiberglass, like the aluminum on the originals, would suffer.

The "quick-jacks" on the Superformance MK II ("289") are identical to the original cars........and therefor fully functional BUT will still often allow body damage. When Shelby developed the quick-jack system it was for race convenience, not for esthetics and therefore using structural tubes that were designed to hold the bumperettes in a "fore/aft" plane in the "up/down" plane was marginal at best. The original FIA/USRRC car bodies were often damaged by use of the jacks, but hey, it's a race car and we will pound it back for the next event. The same physics apply now.