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Yama-Bro's MK4 Build Thread - #9158 (Index in Post #1)
Hey Guys!
My kit arrived this weekend, so it's time to get this build thread rolling...
After about 30 years of dreaming of owning a Cobra I finally pulled the trigger and placed my order online during the June open house. I was planning on ordering it in September, but everything fell into place unexpectedly and I just "had" to do it.
When I was about 11 years old (30 years ago) my Mom caught me on the phone with another Cobra replica manufacturer. I was trying to get some info on their car and get them to send me a brochure (this was back before internet). My mom took the phone from me and proceeded to let the sales man on the other end have it. She explained to him that I was an 11 year old boy and had no business with one of these cars. Well, that just fanned the flames and here I am 30 years later with one in my garage.
My plan is to build this for an all around fun car. I'll be cruising around town (65%), hitting some scenic curvy roads (15%), going to a few car shows (10%), and doing a the occasional "for fun" track (5%) and autocross days (5%). I'm going for a vaguely vintage looking car with 15" billboards and the vintage gages. I have two boys that are 7 and 12. I'm really looking forward to working on this with them (and they are excited too). Since I have a family, a full time job, and many things going on, I'm planning on taking my time on this, so the build could be drawn out a little more than some of yours. It definitely won't be done in 9 months.
Here's what I ordered with the complete kit:
-Frame setup for 302/351 engine and 8.8 straight rear axle w/3 link suspension
-Powder coated frame
-Uncut body
-Power steering
-Vintage gauge set
-Stainless side exhaust
-302 ceramic coated headers
-Wind wings
-Sun visors
-Heater/defroster
-Wipers
-Driver and Passenger chrome roll bars(planning to make the passenger side removable)
-Roll bar grommets
-Center dash support
-15" Halibrand wheels
-Swapped the pre cut dash for a blank dash.
I'm also planning to get/do the following items to complete the build...
-Gordan Levy's 4 piston Wilwood brakes for FFR's 15" Halibrand wheels
-Mickey Thompson ST 15" tires (with Goodyear Eagle tire stickers or stencil)
-For the power plant, right now I'm looking at a BluePrint Engines 347 with EFI, but could go a lot of different directions. I'm also looking at the BPE 306 and the BPE 427 with the Dart block (but that's out of the price range, probably even with an employee discount)
-TKO600 tranny
-3.55 gearing in the rear end along with a 31 spline axles and Ford Track Lok diff..
-Glove box. I like the way the glove box looks in the dash, so I'm going to try to get it to work with the heater.
-Dropped trunk mod
-Battery relocated to the front or under the trunk.
-Competition dash layout.
-A second set of 17" wheels and tires for running on the track.
-Would really like to do rectangular taillights.
-I'm planning to paint it Viking blue with white stripes and blacked out wheels, although my wife and kids are pushing for lime green and black stripes.
I have a decent background of working on things, but I am no expert when it comes to building cars. Many of the steps will be new to me. I'm excited to learn some new skills. I'll be asking tons of questions along the way. Feel free to point out anything I've done wrong.
I also hope to contribute something to the forum during this build, whether it's a new designed part that others can use, a nice CAD drawing, or simply helping someone else in their build by showing my pictures and sharing my experiences.
Anyways...here we go...
Index:
Post #2 - Delivery
Post #7 - Inventory
Post #23 - Body Removal (See post 101 for body buck drawings)
Post #39 - Aluminum Panel Removal
Post #41 - F Panel Prep
Post #42 - Koni Shock Assembly
Post #43 - F Panel Installation
Post #50 - Lower Control Arm Installation
Post #53 - Lower Control Arms, Shocks, Spindles, and Hubs Installation
Post #55 - Steering Rack Installation
Post #56 - Gordon Levy Racing Front Wilwood Brakes Installation
Post #95 - Driver's Side Footbox Front Panel Prep and installation
Post #96 - Tie Rod and Steering Shaft Installation.
Post #101 - Yama-Bro's Extra Storage Body Buck Drawings
Post #121 - Axle rebuild
Post #178 - Gordon Levy Racing Rear Wilwood Brakes Installation
Post #179 - Banana Bracket Installation
Post #185 - Lower Control Arm Brackets, Lower Control Arms, Upper & VPM Banana Bracket Installation
Post #186 - Axle Assembly Bolted to Frame & Rear shocks installed = Rolling Chassis!!!
Post #208 - Fuel tank install
Post #211 - Jeff Kleiner's quick jack mounting mod
Post #222 - Heater hole in firewall and temp firewall install
Post #229 - Pedal box install
Post #233 - Tire Stickers
Post #236 - Passenger side footbox fit, drill, and temp install
Post #237 - Cockpit floor fit, drill, and temp install
Post #244 - Driver's side footbox fit, drill, and temp install
Post #250 - Trunk side panels; fit, drill, and temp install
Post #256 - Russ Thompson drop trunk mod install and lower trunk floor fit and temp install
Post #263 - FFmetals battery box install and upper trunk floor fit and temp install
Post #266 - Sway bar install
Post #269 & #284 - Flexible brake line install
Post #286 - Girling brake reservoirs and mounting bracket installed
Post #301 - Hard brake lines installed
Post #316 - Pro-M Racing hanger and Aeromotive Stealth fuel pump installed
Post #317 - Hard fuel lines bent and installed
Post #326 - Fuel filter & bracket installed
Post #329 - Flexible fuel lines installed
Post #337 - Brake bleeding
Post #346 & 347 - Fuse panel install and rough wiring harness laid out
Post #348 - Heater install and passenger side foot box final assembly.
Post #349 - Dash layout
Post #358 - Dash hole cutting
Post #362 - Fresh air/footbox vent cable pulls
Post #376 - Glove box design
Post #381 - Glove Box 3D printing, sanding, and assembly
Post #390 - Glove Box door fabrication
Post #393 - Dash locating with body on/Dash ends bent
Post #397 - Dash mounting brackets
Post #401 - FFR's Under Dash support brackets & footbox heater vents
Post #409 - Dash support tubes & extension bracket.
Post #412 - Bracket to attach passenger side of dash to frame
Post #413 - Modification of vintage knobs
Post #414 - Filing glove box screw holes prior to dash covering
Post #415 - Dash vinyl covering
Post #416 - Glove box internal paint and heat insulation.
Post #419 - Dash assembled and placed in car
Post #426 - Radiator & Fan Install (including Breeze upper/lower supports and fan shroud)
Post #433 - Emergency brake lever assembly
Post #437 - Glove box door welting
Post #438 - Seats and dual locking seat sliders - Part 1
Post #443 - Fuel tank vent tube
Post #443 - Clutch cable
Post #446 - Russ Thompson pedal install
Post #449 - Firewall stiffener bracket fabrication
Post #456 - Brake line heat shield
Post #460 - Horns Installed
Post #461 - Custom inner panels for upper level of trunk side walls
Post #466 - Fire Wall extension panel
Post #467 - Roll bars drilled
Post #469 - Foot vents
Post #476 - Firewall insulation
Post #478 - Key switch anti-rotation and dash stiffening bracket
Post #483 - Transmission and modifications
Post #486 - Steering shaft bezel from replicaparts.com
Post #487 - Dash wiring harness
Post #494 - Parking brake cables & connection to lever
Post #496 - Engine Story
Post #518 - Front Drive system
Post #521 - Tranny mated to engine
Post #522 - Engine in Chassis, Clutch cable, headers, shift lever, Metco safety loop, Tranny A-frame, driveshaft
Post #531 - Forte Mechanical Throttle Linkage
Post #536 - Preformed radiator hoses
Post #537 - Coolant overflow tank
Post #541 - Flexible fuel lines to Holley Sniper
Post #542 - 90 Degree oil filter adaptor
Post #543 - Breeze power steering line kit
Last edited by Yama-Bro; 09-26-2023 at 07:59 AM.
Started dreaming of a Cobra around 1987
Purchased Complete Kit 6/9/2017, Delivered 9/4/2017, Rolling Chassis 3/30/2018, Engine Dyno'ed 3/4/2022, Engine installed 8/27/2022
Click here for my build thread
Serial #9158
Design Engineer at BluePrint Engines
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