D'D first real test drive Sunday evening !

michel schryer · #1 (**permalink**) 09-08-2010, 08:48 PM

Had my first drive on the road sunday evening and I have to say that was one of the most exciting moment of my life,I had joy rides in cars before but that was a very different driving experience,very exciting.
My car is set up for cruising with the period correct tires and I could see the difference between the handling of my Mini and the Cobra. This car requires full attention. I took off and accelerated gradually and the sound of the sidepipes was just out of this world. I was testing the suspension by doing a gentle slalom and could feel the car swaying a little,i was not expecting the car to sway as much as it did,this is due to the high sidewall of the tires and I understood right away that the motion was transmitted to the tires and that they were the ones producing that movement but I was ok with it,it wasn't scary because it's not set up for the track. I went up the road and turned around and when I came back people were passing me (because it was a two lane) slowly and had a smile on their face looking down at my car. I did only a short 7 miles just in case. All my temperatures and pressures seemed ok,water temp was 100 celcius stable,funny that my autometer guage is not in Farenheit,100 degrees,I found that a little high but it was stable,not sure if it's ok yet,have to do more driving. One of my brake Wilwood reservoir was seeping at the rubber o'ring but I already knew that I had to change the clamp,didn't seal right,besides that I noticed maybe a little clutch slippage maybe at time,have to double check that on the next drive. I reused the clutch and pressure plate that came from a '90 mustang,they had been replaced a while ago so I though they look good,I have to investigate a little more on that. Also having the car for 4 years on the jack stands doesn't help. My new rear main seal was seeping also before i took the car for a spin so I don't know if the oil could have seep on the clutch,I have to check it out. Waiting for some time off to make my second road test,any comments on my issues will be appreciated,thanks for reading !

Michel

TINNMANN · #2 (**permalink**) 09-09-2010, 03:03 PM

Michel 100c is a little warm for a carbed motor did you use the t stat from the FI motor? If so change to a 190f fail safe t stat available at NAPA. I would suspect the sway you feel might also come from not having sway bars. You will get some squirm from the high sidewall tires but the car doesn't weigh that much. Could the feeling you are getting be tramlining in the truck groves? What springs are in it? I would think 500 lbs all corners would be ok but you may have to change to something stiffer. I have sway bars and 17" tires and no sway or lean at all. As for the clutch I wonder if the way you have adjusted the slave cylinder is not releasing the clutch fully you may have to change the master to a larger cylinder dia. in order to get more adjustment also on the pedal there is a stop that can be adjusted. Now the fun has started and sorting out the car can be a rewarding journey. As for the rear seal dripping it should not cause a issue unless it gets real bad.Give me a call if I can help!
Cheers Greg

michel schryer · #3 (**permalink**) 09-09-2010, 04:22 PM

Greg,it was really fun finally driving my Cobra. I'm using a brand new thermostat with fail safe,I beleive it is a 190 degree,i will keep an eye on this and replace it if I have too,now the temperature outside is cooler but I'll monitor it. The coils are QA1,don't know how many pounds,might havee to upgrade those too for stiffer ones. Yes I might have to change my master cylinder 'cause I had to adjust the fork so it's probably always in contact with the pressure plate enough to be able to engage reverse without grinding the gears,why just the reverse gear,i don't know enough about transmission.
When it was looser witout touching the pressure plate,I didn't have problems engaging the forward gears but when I wanted to put it in reverse,it wouldn't engage,it would grind so i guess my slave cyl. doesn't produce enough pressure for the reverse but why just the reverse gear,am I right according to what you said.
I will go monday to get my carb adjusted by a pro mechanic who specializes in ford engines,especially anything related to mustangs,he built a few Cobras for customers before,I'm confident he will do a good job,I've known him for a while,I am missing some equipment to do such a job. There is a flea market in barrie this week end,I might go with another Cobra friend here to buy some goodies. I need carpet to do my car,emblems,etc. I would like to do it this year maybe if I find carpet,my friend Rick would give me a hand,he did a few Cobras. Let me know if you go,we would go saturday morning,weather suppose to be ok,cheers

Michel

Hawkeye · #4 (**permalink**) 09-14-2010, 10:43 PM

Michel, I had the same issue. Do you have a toploader? My toploader is from a 1970 Mustang so the reverse does not have a syncro ring on it. Grinding going into reverse is common. What I have to do is when I come to a full stop, I have to put the tranny into 3rd to slow the gears down before trying to engage reverse.

michel schryer · #5 (**permalink**) 09-15-2010, 06:18 PM

Hawkeye,my tranny is a stock tranny from a '90 LX mustang and today,I was explaining that to a Mustang specialist and he told me the same thing about the reverse grinding if trying to put it in gear from neutral. He said to put it in 5th and then reverse,it all made sense. This week end I will back off my throw out bearing (release bearing,whatever it's called) because right now it's compressing my pressure plate all the time probably making my clutch slipping at high speed when I punch it. I knew it wasn't right but it was the only way I could engage the reverse. Wow,you learn everyday with those cars,it's awsome. Still a couple of finishing touches to do,I'm always improving the car as the days go buy,it'll never be 100% completed. I have to drive to my painter alsoto decide a paint job,show him some colors that I like and how he's going to do it,very exciting,thanks for all the inputs guys !

Michel

Hawkeye · #6 (**permalink**) 09-15-2010, 10:19 PM

Michel, you'll have to post some pictures in your gallery for us all to enjoy.

michel schryer · #7 (**permalink**) 09-16-2010, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

Michel, you'll have to post some pictures in your gallery for us all to enjoy.

I will try,last time I couldn't do it,I have a ton of pictures. I can post pictures on the FFR site and I don't even have a FFR. People are asking me,how did you do this,how did you install that. They don't get it because they think I have a FFR but It's deceiving because when I say I have a DD,they don't know what I 'm talking about ? I feel like i'm an imposter !

I wonder how many DD's Don sold in Canada so far. It's cool because everywhere I go,people are all asking: Is it a FFR ? That's a well known kit but when you say : NOOO,it's a D'D Cobra,they're baffled. I feel like I'm driving a one of a kind because there's NONE around and I like it a lot to feel like I belong to an exclusive club ! Tomorrow I'm going to see a potential painter,we'll see how it goes,this is my first try at a paint shop. We'll talk later,cheers !

Michel ( Member of an exclusive D'D Cobra owner's club)

133bus · #8 (**permalink**) 09-18-2010, 05:32 AM

Michel,me too,...by the way how does your car handle...did you set the frontend up yourself or have it lined up by a pro...what wheels and tires did you put on...the reason I ask is there was a guy in Moncton that had one that had trouble getting to it to go straight...now,he addmitted he only tried to line it up himself and was taking it to a pro but he sold it to a guy in Nova Scotia before that happened...so I was just wondering
Steve

michel schryer · #9 (**permalink**) 09-18-2010, 06:39 PM

My car is going pretty straight actually even on bumpy roads. I feel that I could use a bump steer kit because on bumpy roads,the steering wheel is responding a bit to the cracks and bumps but the car is not zigzagging like my Mini Cooper that is fitted with bigger tires. My Cobra is better than my Mini on uneven roads. I don't have to fight it. I can drive with one hand on the steering and the other relax but I'm always ready. I had the car set up at the shop and two experienced mechanics worked on it for 4 hours to get it right as per the numbers that Don gave me. My tires are Kelly Chargers 235's in the front and 295's in the rear mounted on 15" Team 111 wheels. I love my rimsand tire combo they are kick ass. My car has a period correct look with those fat tires. I would not change a thing. Remember that if you put low profile tires,the ride will be bumpy and the car will zigzag a lot on uneven roads,I learned that the hard way when I put after market low profile tires with 17" rim on my mini. I would not do it again,i would only get low profile if they are factory. I hope this help,if you have any questions,feel free to pm me,cheers !
Michel

Quote:

Originally Posted by 133bus

Michel,me too,...by the way how does your car handle...did you set the frontend up yourself or have it lined up by a pro...what wheels and tires did you put on...the reason I ask is there was a guy in Moncton that had one that had trouble getting to it to go straight...now,he addmitted he only tried to line it up himself and was taking it to a pro but he sold it to a guy in Nova Scotia before that happened...so I was just wondering
Steve