Terry in Las Vegas Build - 15,000 miles, standard ratio R-P installed.

[TMartinLVNV]

Oil change time.


I install a Fumoto valve on all of my cars to make oil changes a little easier. Because they do not have a magnet in them, I install a rare earth magnet next to it. I pull it off before draining, and reinstall it afterwards.


I probably did not need to change the tranny fluid. I did it anyway. It may be the last time I do this.


Today, I'm going to detail the undercarriage and do a little work on the trunk to organize things better. I also will be spending some time waxing the paint.

[TMartinLVNV]

The space in the trunk is precious. I've been wanting to put my tool box up on the top shelf for a little while now. Of course, up there, it is likely to slide around a lot.


So, I installed two pieces of angle aluminum to hold it in place.


Toolbox up in place now and secured.


Everything back in the trunk again.

[TMartinLVNV]

Storage space in the cockpit is very limited as well. I've been putting stuff behind the passenger seat but it also slides around a lot. I found these on Amazon for just a few dollars. They are meant for kitchen sinks.



I trimmed off the ears and slid them in place behind both seats. Not the most elegant option, but definitely functional. I'll keep an eye out for a black colored pair. This will work for now.

[John Ibele]

I like that you're continuing your build thread through the driving & maintenance phase. Thanks for the good ideas.

[TMartinLVNV]

Thanks John. I don't know that the work ever really stops on these cars. But, that is part of the fun I suppose. I love driving every mile in this car. The constant waves, honks, or even people videoing me from their own car puts a smile on my face.

I also enjoy, almost as much as driving, the process of detailing areas that most people will never notice or even see. But I know that the rear axle is dust free and for some reason, that makes me happy.

[GTBradley]

I know that the rear axle is dust free and for some reason, that makes me happy.

You’re not just a gearhead, you’re a gearhead-nerd. Seriously though, you are definitely the guy to travel with. I bet if I broke down and asked if you had a watchamagizmo tool, you’d say, what color would you like?

[TMartinLVNV]

You’re not just a gearhead, you’re a gearhead-nerd. Seriously though, you are definitely the guy to travel with. I bet if I broke down and asked if you had a watchamagizmo tool, you’d say, what color would you like?

Ha! You are right! Followed up by would you like a 12 point or 6 point, deep or standard, metric or English? If I ended up not having that, I could just throw you some bailing wire

[GTBradley]

Well then, I’ll bring the chewing gum.

[John Ibele]

But I know that the rear axle is dust free and for some reason, that makes me happy.

My dad was a thermodynamics expert, the rabid kind who thought teaching his kids the laws of thermodynamics was perfectly appropriate, and we insisted was borderline abusive. We learned enough to know the right answer to give Mom whenever he got lost after heading out to the garage: “He’s happily reducing entropy in his little corner of the garage, knowing he can’t reduce it in the Universe overall.”

If making your rear axle dust-free makes you happy, who am I to stop you? We all have our happy little corner of the Universe.

[Fixit]

My toolkit consists of a Swiss Army knife, Leatherman, and a can of Fix-a-Flat... I like the little corner baskets!

[TMartinLVNV]

My toolkit consists of a Swiss Army knife, Leatherman, and a can of Fix-a-Flat... I like the little corner baskets!

The baskets really come in handy. I usually have a sun hat on while driving. Then I switch it out with a regular baseball hat when getting out of the car. The unused hat gets stored behind the seat. I take everything out of my pockets before getting into the car and put it in the baskets. If I'm going to a scenic area for pictures, I put my Sony camera in them too.

[Fman]

The space in the trunk is precious. I've been wanting to put my tool box up on the top shelf for a little while now. Of course, up there, it is likely to slide around a lot.


So, I installed two pieces of angle aluminum to hold it in place.


Toolbox up in place now and secured.


Everything back in the trunk again.

Going to have to add that tool kit on my list after car is done, great idea. Do you have a link to that tool kit?

[Big Blocker]

Terry,

I was going to suggest a strip of Velcro glued to the underside of the tool box but you got it handled perfectly . . .

One of the reasons I switched to MK-IV seats for my MK-II was the storage space under the seats. That worked for me because mine were NOT adjustable, simply bolted to the floor in the position that was exclusively "me". I modified the front "leather hinge" of the seat bottom to make the bottoms removable, mostly because having them attached was a PITA when trying to get to the storage area. Things like sun screen lotion, gloves, my "7-11" beanie, trash bag rain coats and a flashlight would fit just perfect.

Just thoughts . . .

Doc

[TMartinLVNV]

Going to have to add that tool kit on my list after car is done, great idea. Do you have a link to that tool kit?

This is the one that I got. I have a bigger one in my Jeep. They are decent quality tools and the price is right. In my tool bag, I have a few adjustable wrenches, larger box end wrenches, vice grips, bailing wire, electrical tape, flashlight, gaffers tape, etc.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

In the RT drop trunk, you can see a jack, air compressor, tire patch kit, slime, tarp (for laying on the ground, and a can of white lithium grease.

[TMartinLVNV]

Terry,

I was going to suggest a strip of Velcro glued to the underside of the tool box but you got it handled perfectly . . .

Doc

Thanks Doc. It works well and the price was right!

[TMartinLVNV]

I ordered the cover from Pigfarm quite some time ago and it arrived this week. It fits perfectly. I should have made the stripes a little bit darker, but I'm happy with it. It is a very nice product.





A bit hard to fit in the trunk, but it does. Barely

[TMartinLVNV]

When building the car, the CNC brake/clutch fluid reservoirs were not available anymore. With Dave's (Papa) suggestion, I purchased the ones from Scott's Hotrods. They are quite small. Several people expressed concern about this and I was worried as well. I realized that I had not checked the fluid level since 500 miles.



Here you can see the front is down just a smidge after 4500 miles. I topped it off (even through it did not need it) and it is good to go.

[BadAsp427]

After the 10K I put on mine, I have never had to add fluid and I have the very small FFR style reservoirs. I guess if you don't have any leaks and your brake pad last, you should not see much drop in level

[JB in NOVA]

I ordered the cover from Pigfarm quite some time ago and it arrived this week. It fits perfectly. I should have made the stripes a little bit darker, but I'm happy with it. It is a very nice product.

Terry, I'm not familiar with Pigfarm. So that is a "tonneau" that is custom fit for the FFR Mk4, but it doesn't require snaps on the body? How does it secure at the front and rear of the cockpit? Any feedback on how it does in the rain? It looks very nice.

[TMartinLVNV]

After the 10K I put on mine, I have never had to add fluid and I have the very small FFR style reservoirs. I guess if you don't have any leaks and your brake pad last, you should not see much drop in level

The front was down just a smidge compared to the back. Probably took half a teaspoon to get it back to the same level. I think the capacity is about that of a shot glass

[TMartinLVNV]

Terry, I'm not familiar with Pigfarm. So that is a "tonneau" that is custom fit for the FFR Mk4, but it doesn't require snaps on the body? How does it secure at the front and rear of the cockpit? Any feedback on how it does in the rain? It looks very nice.

Yes. They are made for each car. An order sheet for measurements is sent to you along with vinyl samples to color match. Fortunately, I don't have any rain experience yet. There are four braces that run lengthwise to the car to keep it from sagging. I think it will do well to keep most rain out. There are two straps that hang down over the doors that can be strapped underneath of the car to hold it in place. It is not secure from theft. Even if you used a lock, a pair of scissors is all that is needed to take it. But I don't think there are a lot of thieves looking for them. There are no snaps or anything on the front or rear. This is just to use when the car is parked.

It is a nice product. In my experience, the delivery was a bit longer than estimated.

[BadAsp427]

Terry, I'm not familiar with Pigfarm. So that is a "tonneau" that is custom fit for the FFR Mk4, but it doesn't require snaps on the body? How does it secure at the front and rear of the cockpit? Any feedback on how it does in the rain? It looks very nice.

They hold rain water really well. Here is a photo after a full night of rain. I learned that I needed to tighten up the bungee cords on each side so that the water ran off rather than puddle. As can be seen on the passenger side in this photo.
IMG_5960.jpg

[GTBradley]

I read once that someone said they kept a beach ball (or two) in the car for overnight/rain use.

[TMartinLVNV]

I have wanted to get rid of the quick jacks for a while now. I just never liked the exposed hardware look of them. A while back, I bought the bumperettes from F5 then had them powder coated. I bought some new threaded rod, measured the correct length, and cut to fit (5.7" worked perfect for me). I drilled out the threads on the bumperette holes (took 3 cobalt bits) so that the threaded rod would pass through. The 5.7" allowed me to get two threads past the nylon on the locknut that holds everything together. Tiny fingers would help here, which I don't have.







I am almost at 6,000 miles now and the car is still running strong. I've been practicing lots of donuts in open parking lots having fun with it. The LV locals and I have a three day trip in southern CA soon and then a PCH trip later next month. I did have to use my touch up paint on the lower front of my car for a goober of a paint chip

[TMartinLVNV]

The Las Vegas area Cobra owners just returned from a three day 650 mile trip through southern California. Specifically Joshua Tree National Park and Palm Springs. We were able to get a quick snapshot of something that may be of interest of fellow Cobra owners



We have Wes, Jack, Terry, and Howard.



These are off of our cell phones. I took some with my GoPro as well. I'll mess with them more later, after a shower

[GTBradley]

Wow! That is a fantastic photo, Terry. And one of my all-time favorite WWII aircraft, too. Nice work getting that done.

[nuhale]

Very cool! Black sheep squadron!

All time fav military plane. As a kid I loved the show black sheep and used to go nuts when they were at Oshkosh air show.

Great pic!!!!

[Al_C]

Love the photos! There's something about a Corsair that can't be beat.

[Fman]

Awesome pic! Sounds like a fun trip...

[TMartinLVNV]

Thanks guys. It was a lot of fun. We have a great group of people here in LV that like to go out and put miles on their cars. We stopped by this museum and were admiring the planes when someone from out group said "I wonder if they would let us photograph our cars next to a plane". That's all that it took. I took off and asked. The worst they could say was no. I asked a person who asked another person who asked another person who made a phone call. Amazingly, they finally said yes. We were told that if we hit a plane, we just bought that plane. We brought our cars in and quickly staged them. People starting gathering around and it was hard to get pictures. We definitely could not move cars around to make things more symmetrical. Then some kids were part of a group and we let them sit in the cars to take pictures.

Suddenly, we were told that we have get the cars out of there. I don't know if anyone got in trouble or anything, but they wanted us out of there. So after a few donuts in the hanger, we pulled out. Kidding!

I wish we could have taken better pictures and taken more time to set everything up better. But, it was more than I expected and was a real treat. They were very generous with us.

[TMartinLVNV]

Love the photos! There's something about a Corsair that can't be beat.

Al, I think that the curves of the gull wings are similar to the curves of our fenders. Maybe that is why we love them so much?

[Al_C]

Al, I think that the curves of the gull wings are similar to the curves of our fenders. Maybe that is why we love them so much?

Or....maybe it's the 2000+ horsepower!

[GTBradley]

If we ever get a trip out to KC I think we could get pictures with the Connie and others at the Kansas city Airline Museum...I know a guy.

KC Airline Museum.jpg

[Al_C]

If we ever get a trip out to KC I think we could get pictures with the Connie and others at the Kansas city Airline Museum...I know a guy.

KC Airline Museum.jpg

9 hours from Chicago! Road trip!

[GTBradley]

8 hours from Denver! Road trip!

[Cutter 54]

Hi and thanks for seating options. Can you confirm the Kirkey low back seat is the 55V series (Vintage Class Bucket)? Is there adequate room to recline the back and is there decent tight support?
Also, just how tall are you?
Thanks. This is like trying on walking or running shoes before buying.

[Big Blocker]

Late to the party but, the cockpit cover looks GREAT!

In response to post #423, yes, a "beach ball" works perfectly

Doc

[TMartinLVNV]

Hi and thanks for seating options. Can you confirm the Kirkey low back seat is the 55V series (Vintage Class Bucket)? Is there adequate room to recline the back and is there decent tight support?
Also, just how tall are you?
Thanks. This is like trying on walking or running shoes before buying.

Hey Cutter. Yes, my seats are the Vintage Class Bucket and 17" wide. The standard is 16" and they also come in 18". The 18" seats are so wide that they won't go back as far as the 17" ones in the Cobra. The 17" Kirkey seats are the #1 modification to fit tall people in these cars IMHO. I'm 6'6". I find that they hold me in place quite well both in the thigh and the seat back area and are comfortable enough for 150 miles before a butt break is needed.

I also got these:
https://www.kirkeyracing.com/product...5657071-SERIES

You can recline the seat back as far as you want, but that will also move you forward. You need to find the sweet spot that works best for you. My seats are reclined a little and are firmly against the back wall of the cockpit.

Most of this info was given to me by Dave Hodgkins who did the research.

[jiriza84641]

Best plane of WWII. My absolute fave.

[FF33rod]

Fantastic shot, that'd be so much fun. Corsair is my all time fave as well, followed by the P-38 Lightning

Steve