G&Ks Father /Son Roadster Build

[MyBucketList]

Quick post today. Probably better for the general forum, just incase someone following has some insight, we'll start here.

Have almost 1,000 miles and starting to look at little tweaks. One such tweak is trying set the IAC on our Sniper (we are see recommended targets around 3 to 5%).

So far, we have been unsuccessful getting to a IAC setpoint using ideas from folks on YouTube. Should also be noted that our idle set-up is 850rpm, but we actually idle around 1,000.

Neither are a huge deal as our base set-up seems to be running okay. We are currently toiling with continuing to play with it, or just leave it for now and take it to a local tuner (with a really good reputation) later on.

Any thoughts?

[MyBucketList]

We have a lot of catching up to do. Since getting the body squared away and primed, we have been enjoying driving the car. At this point we are up around 1100 miles since getting her on the road. Really enjoying just cruising around.

We do have some pictures to post as various car gatherings we have been attending (Cars Against Cancer, Cars & Coffee, etc). Have been on the lookout for other Cobras in the area, but so far we have not run across any other builders. Funny thing happened this weekend though. I was running a long distance endurance relay race and had a FFR MK4 build sighting. Was my turn to run my second leg @ about 10pm through the residential area of Ludington. As I was trudging along, I saw a garage open at a house on my right. Inside the garage was a gentlemen working on his kit. I could see the rough body and the chassis. For a fleeting moment I thought "the heck with the race, I'm gonna stop and say hello". Didn't end up doing it though. Just smiled and kept moving. Fun!

Final item (for now)... took the car to a local tuner to have my Sniper professionally tuned. It has been running okay, but I keep hearing that you won't get the most out of the Sniper if you just rely on the self-learning function. Was supposed to pick her up yesterday, but the shop ran into an issue. I guess they got it all done and it was running great. They put in back on the dyno for a last check and the engine died half way through the run. She ended up loosing spark. The shop traced it to the distributor. The power in and ground check out fine, but there is no impulse coming out. Called BP warrantee and they were awesome. A replacement distributor is on the way, so we will change that out. I can't help but wonder, though, if it is really a distributor issue... or if something I did in the wiring caused the distributor's premature death. The guy at the shop said all the wiring looked good, so I guess we will wait and see.

Anyhow... lots of pictures coming soon from the cars shows, etc. Until then, happy building

[MyBucketList]

As promised... just a few pictures from some of the car shows we have been attending. So far we have been the only Cobra to make it to each event. It's a lonely life , but we get a lot of notoriety for a "naked primer" car. Kind of fun. Lots of conversation with people appreciating that we came out.

Cars Against Cancer - Holland, Michigan

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Cars & Coffee - Zeeland Michigan

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Added bonus... we just got her back from the tuner today, so we have the real world (rear wheel) dyno results. Given the engine tested at 425 hp/ 430 lb/ft at BP, I guess I was expecting higher results. It's mostly a matter of not having any realistic idea of the scale of loses by the time you factor in the complete system. We are certainly not disappointed as she was fast before tuning with a baseline the dyno said we were just over 300hp at the rear wheels. By the time Jon got done... well... you can see below. He also fixed our erratic idle issue. Something about the throttle fins were tight and binding a little. It's idling beautiful now though. IAC is set like it is supposed to be as well.

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With that... our goal this weekend is to cruise around SW Mich. If you're local... maybe we'll see you out there. Don't hesitate to say "hello" if you see us.

[MyBucketList]

We are continuing to be amazed by the really great people we have been meeting through this whole build process. It is continuing on, even with our build mostly done. Now that we are frequenting car shows we are meeting some really great people in the general car community who are just fun to be around... car shop owners, club members, general enthusiast. It is really awesome.

We have new found friend in Ken. Ken is an older gentlemen with an old custom Toyota T100 (249K miles... hand crank windows... OLD school... got to be careful how we say that as there are many levels of "old school' and we don't want to offend ) Customer matte black paint, red n white pin striping, and a customer fab wood floor in the bed with a carrier for his electric bicycle. As unique a customer build as anything else out there... and very different from the collective toys we have been seeing at shows so far. Great guy... fun truck!

Then there is the gentlemen who just did our final Sniper tuning for us. Jon has a little unassuming shop along a little country, commercial strip on my way home from work. Seen it a thousand of times and never thought twice that it was a serious car service place (even though is said "Capizzi: Transmission Magician" on the sign out front). We only went to Jon on a recommendation from a fellow "car guy" who happened to know Jon has a thing for tuning EFI's. Turns out, it is more than a thing.. and he does a heck of a lot more than tuning EFI's as well. We won't spoil it too much, but if you want to know how Jon really made his name, just look up "Capizzi Mustang" on YouTube (and don't blink when the light goes green in the videos). We can't hardly believe that is same person who just did we final tuning for us. Pretty exciting... though our MK4 doesn't really compare to his "play toy".

Anyhow... so much fun. Gonna be sad to have to put the car away for the year in coming weeks. Michigan weather is getting colder and more rainy so our opportunities are dwindling. With luck we will have her out yet this weekend.

Fingers crossed.

[MyBucketList]

Haven't posted in a while due to... well... life.

Summer has come to an end and the Cobra is probably in bed for the winter.

At this point, we need to get it up on jack stands, get the tires off and put a "off season plan" together. Since we managed to get 1,200 miles in since June we are sure there are some things we need to check over. There are also a couple issues we will need to prioritize and seek the collective on the forum for ideas. Thanks goodness there has not been anything major and we feel pretty good about our work so far.

That's it for now. Quick post.

Happy building... and Happy Thanksgiving!