Coming along nicely Jim. I'll be back in SA in Aug and can come by to help out again.
Thanks Terry, I'm looking forward to your visit--you're fun to work with and lots of help! I'll be working on the body then, and I'm sure I'll have questions and lots of mistakes for you to fix!
It’s been a while since I’ve posted, and although I haven’t spent much time on the Cobra, I did want to report some progress. It’s disjointed, so I think I’ll describe it using several posts.
The Cobra body has been sitting outside, out of sight and mostly out of mind, since I received the kit in September 2022. We had started a major renovation project on the house at the same time I received the kit (my getting the Cobra was sort of quid pro quo for agreeing to the renovation), and the garage was overloaded with kit items, and even more construction materials. Plus the wife's car? No way was that body ever rolling into the garage. The garage ceiling is only 9 feet, so I didn’t want to hang it either. I had no choice but to exile it elsewhere on the property and basically forget about it for the last 20 months.
I didn’t really forget about the body, but I did avoid thinking about it, hoping that no permanent damage would occur. This is slightly off subject, but I remember someone in my home town had bought about 20 small fiberglass motor boats in the late '60s and stored them in the weeds behind a local grocery store. I guess his business never took off, because when I went by there about 15 years later, the grocery store was still there (abandoned), and so were the boats! But now, there were trees literally growing through some of their hulls! I tell you this because that’s exactly what my mind pictured every time I thought of my poor Cobra body sitting out in the “lower 40” all by its forlorn, lonesome self.
That’s a long lead-in to just a little bit of progress.
When I retrieved the body, it was extremely dirty with dust, pollen, sap, and residue from tape I’d neglected to remove.
Amazingly, with the help of a little GooGone on the tape, it washed up quickly and easily. The tape residue took a little time, but washing took less than 15 minutes. I forgot to wash the trunk lid, so I stuck it on to show the contrast. If you’re wondering, that is a scratch on the trunk lid. I’m sure it didn’t come from FFR that way, but I have no idea what caused it.
After washing, I sanded down the parting seams enough to avoid tearing up a foam buffing pad, and then got a nice shine using Meguiare’s Boat and RV polish.
1
Afterwards, I flipped the body and applied two heavy coats of Rustoleum bed liner to the underside, using one and a half quarts of that product (no picture, but trust me (fingers crossed)--the results were stunning)
I’m not sure what I’m going to do about paint and body. I’d love for someone like Jeff Kleiner or Jeff Miller to finish my car, but I think with time, transportation costs, etc., it’s probably not do-able. I had originally planned to do the body and paint myself (Debra (the wife) likes to occasionally incorporate a bank shot in her maneuvering technique, so I’ve developed some body/paint experience), but my results are mediocre, and after this investment of love, time and money, mediocre won’t be acceptable. So I will finish the car’s construction and drive it in gel coat until I decide what to do (looking for San Antonio area advice here!). The point is, I’ve done all I’m going to do with the body, as I don’t want to do anything that might interfere with whoever ultimately does that work.
Check out Brent's Customs in Lewisville. He's done a few FFR Cobras now, does really nice work for a fair price. The one he's just wrapping up is a candy red and it just spectacular.
She shined up really nice. I'd drive it in gelcoat for a while until you find a painter.
Jeff Miller (da bat) has hung up his paint guns, from what I'm hearing.
I think some of the members around Houston might chime in re painters in TX area.
Plenty of builders who've done their own body work and paint and many threads out there to guide you through the process.
Edit: Mike chimed in right in time as I was replying.
Posted by Mike Bray: Check out Brent's Customs in Lewisville. He's done a few FFR Cobras now, does really nice work for a fair price. The one he's just wrapping up is a candy red and it just spectacular.
Originally Posted by egchewy79
Jeff Miller (da bat) has hung up his paint guns, from what I'm hearing.
I think some of the members around Houston might chime in re painters in TX area.
Plenty of builders who've done their own body work and paint and many threads out there to guide you through the process.
Before installing the body, I wanted to do some final detail work on the chassis.
I checked the torques on all my fasteners and I’m glad I did: I’d neglected to tighten the jamb nut on the left rear toe arm, and all the nuts on the gas tank straps were just finger tight. This was all easily corrected.
I couldn’t tell if I’d done a remarkably clean job greasing the rear suspension joints and fittings, or if I’d never greased them in the first place (I’m pretty sure that I did), so I greased them all again until I could see signs of grease at all the joint edges.
In the interior, I found a small gap in the carpeting at one of the corners and patched it. I also found a good Carroll Shelby autograph transfer on ebay and applied it to complete my dash. I think the interior is good to go, unless I have to do some trimming for body fitment.
The engine bay also appears complete. I knew from a long-ago trial fitting that I couldn’t install the inner left side footbox cover without scratching the heck out of my .090” firewall. This I did, but I was able to easily sand out those scratches and touch it up with Shark Hide. I think the engine bay is complete.
I found a small leak at the high pressure fitting on the power steering pump. I think I fixed it, but I hate how tight I’m having to turn some of these fluid fittings. My experience with brass and tapered fittings is that they shouldn’t be super tight, but lots of things on this car don’t seem to confirm that experience. Nevertheless, I closed my eyes and held my breath, and kept turning it in until the leak stopped. Hopefully, that's the last of the leaks.
Once I was satisfied that all was well with the chassis, I put it on its wheel dollies so that I could position it for the body’s trial fit. After removing the side pipes and putting towels over the bulb seal, dash and seats to avoid potential damage, I was finally ready to make the Cobra look like a Cobra.
I have three sets of kayak pullies mounted to the ceiling that I formerly used for my kart (the kart had to go to provide room, time and money for the Cobra). I relocated one of the pulley sets to match the center-to-center wheel well spacing on the body. It’s better to lift from the front and rear of the body so that the ends will pull out to clear the chassis, but my garage door interferes with locating the pullies for that, so I went with the wheel wells. With a little patience, and a lot of alternately tightening or slacking the pullies to get clearance at each end, I got the body in place.
(I don't know why I didn't think to get a picture with the chassis in place under the body)
That was last weekend. Today I’ll try to note all the areas with interference and then pull the body back off to try and correct it all. At first glance, I see that my cubby wall is at least ½” too high, and that the spacing between the cowl and dash is inconsistent, varying from 1/2" clearance on the right side to almost no clearance on the left (I haven’t properly centered the body on the chassis yet, so I’m hoping that’s the issue with the dash).I also see that I should have gotten the 18” wheels—the 17’s I have in the rear don’t fill out the wheel opening very well. The good news is that the seats fit within the cockpit with no interference issues.
I printed Chris’ (460.465USMC) 15 tips for body fitment and will be relying heavily on that for this stage of my build (thanks Chris!). Wish me luck!
I didn’t get much done today, partly because I was helping my daughter with her car, but mostly because I was a little reluctant to move forward with the body fitment, and super-cautious when I did.
To make it easier to measure and center the front of the body, I attached an “S” hook to a tape measure, so that I could hook it into the spare mounting hole at the top shock mount and get a consistent measurement.
There was an inch difference between the two sides, which I was unable to correct due to interference with the lip on the hood opening and the ¾” chassis member (also, the mounting plate for my hydraulic fluid canisters).
So After pulling the body back off the chassis, my first mods were to trim 3/8” off my rear cubby wall to lower the body, and about an 1/8” off the vertical section of the hood opening lip, so that I could center it. I used electric tin snips for the cubby wall (took about 2 minutes for a nice, clean cut), and a pneumatic saw for the hood opening. I’d done a really neat job of mating the carpet up to the bulb seal on the cubby wall, but now it’s a bit of a mess due to the trimming. You can’t see that area with the body in place, but I’m not happy with it, and will re-trim the carpet before permanently mounting the body.
After those minor adjustments, the 2nd body fitment seemed fairly close. I was now able to properly center the front of the body, and the body rocker panels fit properly under the chassis side members. Further, the spacing between the cowling and the dash is a consistent ½”, and the rear cockpit wall fits nicely under the rear deck. Everything is starting to look good. However, I still have 3 issues: my rear quick jack bolts are off about an 1/8”; the body only comes about an 1/8” forward of the door striker plates (should be ¼”); and, I don’t have the required ½” clearance between the end of my dash hoop and the body. That last issue puzzles me—the instructions imply that the tubing is easy to bend, but I’m not sure that I’m understanding them correctly. Using a ¾” wrench as suggested, I can only deform the tubing walls, but not bend the entire tube downward. I can probably bend it down with a hammer and block of wood, but that seems like excessive force, so I’m not sure that I’m doing it right. Any suggestions?
A few more corrections ought to do it. Looking at the bulb seal, my right trunk side panel needs ¼” trimmed from it in places, as does about a 2” length of the right side rear cockpit wall. I think these cuts will fix the issues with the quick jack bolts and the forward/aft body positioning. Assuming I can figure out the issue with my dash hoop, I should then be ready to fasten down the body. We’ll see.
On my first fit (not yet done as I took the body off again) I had the front fiberglass resting pretty solidly on that dash hoop tube as well, did not like the plan to bend it down since the dash is attached...Thinking may need some rubber or something if it is going to touch there, but interested in other inputs and recommendations as well.
On my first fit (not yet done as I took the body off again) I had the front fiberglass resting pretty solidly on that dash hoop tube as well, did not like the plan to bend it down since the dash is attached...Thinking may need some rubber or something if it is going to touch there, but interested in other inputs and recommendations as well.
Thanks for that--it's always reassuring to hear that I'm not the Lone Stranger when encountering these types of issues. And, like you, I'd be really interested in hearing inputs from others regarding this.
You are making great progress Jim. When I'm there in Aug, if you have any questions for me about the bodywork, my answer will be "I paid a guy to do it" 😂 .
MK IV Build #9659, 3 link, 17's, Forte 347, Sniper EFI, power steering, built for a freak sized person with 17" Kirkey Vintage seats, RT drop trunk, RT turn signal, lots of stuff from Breeze Automotive, Wilwood brakes, paint by Jeff Miller
You are making great progress Jim. When I'm there in Aug, if you have any questions for me about the bodywork, my answer will be "I paid a guy to do it" �� .
Thanks Terry! I heard that the guy you paid to do yours has hung up his paint sprayer, so one less option for me. Looking forward to your visit!
Wow, and I apologize, as it’s been over 2 months since I’ve posted (I flatter myself that I’ve been holding everyone in suspense). I’ve been very busy with other stuff, and very lazy when I’m not very busy, so I've done very little on the Cobra. However, I have made some progress--very little.
There might have been no progress if Terry (TMartinLVNV) hadn’t come by in mid-August to check on me. As usual, he got me re-motivated (I think it wore off soon after he left), had some good ideas, offered lots of tips and advice, and helped me put the body on for the final (I hope) time. Terry is always an encouragement and a great help—I really enjoy it when he can stop by.
We decided that I was being anal about body fitment, and that all the important checkpoints were good except for lacking the specified ½” clearance between the body and the dash hoop. We raised the body ¼” in that vicinity with hard rubber padding attached to the frame rail. Later, if I have issues fitting the doors, I’ll just have to pull the body back up and trim down my dash to get the full ½” clearance. I hate the thought of that.
After Terry left, I mounted my speedometer antenna using adhesive magnetic strips and installed my defroster vent. I am only using one defroster outlet, so I chose an off-center location that’s biased toward the driver. I’m second guessing myself on the location—I should have put it more directly in front of the driver, as it looks odd where I have it—sort of like I don’t know how to measure a center point.
The picture is meant to show the defroster vent, but it's jumping the gun a little bit--I'll tell you about the hood adventure in the next post.
I temporarily mounted the rear bumper and front quick jacks to get the correct body height. I’ll have full bumpers at both ends but needed to temporarily mount the rear bumper in order to modify the overriders according to Jeff Kleiner’s specs. That went well.
At the front, I used the quick jacks to center the body height. It looks good, except that I think the upper left side body cutout is resting on the quick jack bolt a tiny bit. I’m wondering if that might eventually cause the body to crack?
I think that little bit of work finished the month of August for the Cobra. I did a bit more this month, which I’ll post later.
By the way, I saw this Cobra on display at the mall in Corpus Christi—I think it might be Mike Bray’s.
I forgot to mention that in August, I enlarged the cutouts for the side louvers and made a stupid mistake. I made a template using the louvers (Finish Line) and cut the opening accordingly—the exact same size as the louver! This means that I’ll have to position the louvers perfectly in order to fully cover the opening I cut. They’ll cover the opening, but I sure made things difficult for myself. I’m using the same fasteners for them that EdwardB used on his 20th anniversary roadster.
I also enlarged the cutouts for the side pipes, which raised a weird issue. I had to enlarge my right side toward the rear of the car, and the left side towards the front (the left cut almost hits the back of the fender lip). It’s weird because this indicates that the engine is canted in a clockwise position. Yet, I had to modify the transmission tunnel cover because the engine seemed to be canted in a counter-clockwise position. So, which one is it? What the heck is going on here? It’s not like doing algebra, where the two sides cancel each other out! I’ve quadrupled-checked everything, and it all checks, so I’ll just have to wait and see what kind of vibrations I get at speed. If, someday, you happen to see a Cobra going down the highway sideways, that will probably be me!
I also enlarged the cutouts for the side pipes, which raised a weird issue. I had to enlarge my right side toward the rear of the car, and the left side towards the front (the left cut almost hits the back of the fender lip). It’s weird because this indicates that the engine is canted in a clockwise position. Yet, I had to modify the transmission tunnel because the engine seemed to be canted in a counter-clockwise position. So, which one is it? What the heck is going on here?
Simple. The left side of the body and the right side are not mirror images and aren't the same. Just like the hood opening isn't centered on the body (which explains why you were having issues with getting it centered when using the chassis tubes as a reference).
The hood scoop install was a little stressful, but it came out perfectly. I found it hard to correctly measure and find the hood’s exact center points due its shape (alright, I was being anal), and I think I spent over an hour measuring before I was confident enough to mark and cut. I measured the center point at the rear, in the middle, and at the front, intending to draw a straight line through the three. I did this maybe 5 times before I was able to connect all three marks with a straight line. Is it time for a visit to the optometrist?
Cutting the hole for the scoop was a bit stressful, but fairly easy by just following the instructions (a good picture of the cut is in post 213). I cut inside my lines, and then sanded to get the correct outline. I radiused the corners (1/2”) at the front of the cut to eliminate any stress concentration at those points and filled between the two layers of fiberglass with fiberglass resin. I still need to radius the cutout edges, but you’ll never notice them when they’re done.
The scoop's rivet holes are spaced evenly, although I used slightly different dimensions for the rear curved portion than those specified in the instructions.
The scoop is a flexible plastic, so I cleco’ed each hole before drilling the next to ensure that nothing could shift. I generally don’t put a cleco in every hole, but I think that you need to with the scoop. Besides, I have a zillion of them. It came out perfectly.
Finally, I installed the hood and its latches (pic in post 213 again, but it doesn't show the cam wedges on the latches). This was way easier than I expected, and maybe took half an hour to install the hinges, struts, and latch hardware. The hood was about ¼” proud of the body at the rear edges, so I placed each latch at 12-¾” from the center line (instead of 12") to pull it down. This worked well, and the hood is perfectly flush with the body.
Edit: Based on Jeff Kleiner's comments and a closer look at the picture, I think the scoop will be slightly off-center relative to the car body. I'm not sure how bad the ramifications are.
Simple. The left side of the body and the right side are not mirror images and aren't the same. Just like the hood opening isn't centered on the body (which explains why you were having issues with getting it centered when using the chassis tubes as a reference).
Jeff
Thanks Jeff! It's always a big relief to know that the pros are looking over my shoulder!
My plan was to install the windshield last weekend, but my 30 year old Craftsman air compressor died while I was sanding my hood opening. Exploratory surgery showed that my abuse (it ain’t intended to constantly run a die grinder) had deformed the piston seal.
I was amazed when I did a search using the model number, that repair parts are available! For 16 dollars! The entire cylinder, piston, rod and bearing assembly were available for $48, so I ordered the whole kit. It took just a few minutes to install, but I ended up having to fabricate a new pipe from the compressor to the tank due to a failed seal, and that took a while. So, last Saturday was air compressor day, and the windshield had to wait. Maybe this weekend.
Yo Jim
Your not the ony one!
I learned.....(also from J.K).... about the hood not being centered on the car right after I finished installing the scoop. I'm a bit ahead of you so when I figure out the stripeing I'll let you know how it went.
Allyn
I'm no pro, but if the scoop isn't centered to the body, and the stripes are, things aren't going to look quite right...
Greg
Built an early MkIII years ago, sold years ago. Back after 18 years to build a MkIV Build Thread Here Partners: Levy Racing, Summit Racing, LMR, Breeze, Forte's Parts, Speedhut, ReplicaParts
MkIV Complete Kit Ordered 4/18/23, Delivered 7/11/23, Boss 427W, Edelbrock Pro Flo 4, TKX (.68 5th), IRS, Wilwood Brakes, 18" Halibrands, Toyo R888R Tires, Custom Speedhut Gauges
Yo Jim
Your not the ony one!
I learned.....(also from J.K).... about the hood not being centered on the car right after I finished installing the scoop. I'm a bit ahead of you so when I figure out the stripeing I'll let you know how it went.
Allyn
I'm no pro, but if the scoop isn't centered to the body, and the stripes are, things aren't going to look quite right...
Greg
I'm tempted to say that my car's striping will just be unique, except that I suspect there are quite a few like this. Anyone who does the scoop strictly according to the instructions without applying the expert information available in this forum will end up in the same boat (er... car).
Jim,
Got your PM but figured I'd answer here since Rebo and others are talking. Yeah, if the scoop isn't on the true center it can cause you to have to do some "gymnastics" to hide it and get the stripes looking right (no stripes...no problem!). Remember, you just have to make them look right, even if they don't necessarily measure right! This guy apparently chased them around to try to get things to fall onto the off center scoop and then back to the center of the nose and unfortunately it didn't turn out so really good
I wrote up my methods for layout (as well as addressing the off center license plate lamp pad/trunk latch) in this post a while back.
As I said there, I draw a center by pulling a string (no fancy lasers here!) from the center of the license plate lamp all the way to the front midway between the headlights.
Jim,
Got your PM but figured I'd answer here since Rebo and others are talking. Yeah, if the scoop isn't on the true center it can cause you to have to do some "gymnastics" to hide it and get the stripes looking right (no stripes...no problem!). Remember, you just have to make them look right, even if they don't necessarily measure right! This guy apparently chased them around to try to get things to fall onto the off center scoop and then back to the center of the nose and unfortunately it didn't turn out so really good
I wrote up my methods for layout (as well as addressing the off center license plate lamp pad/trunk latch) in this post a while back.
As I said there, I draw a center by pulling a string (no fancy lasers here!) from the center of the license plate lamp all the way to the front midway between the headlights.
Hope that helps!
Jeff
Thank you, Jeff. I remember reading that post--I wish I'd remembered it before cutting the hood! I do want to stripe the car, so I'll have to figure something out. It's a shame about the car in the picture you posted--the crooked striping is pretty obvious, and detracts from an otherwise nice looking paint job. I'll have to think about it, but I think I'd prefer the striping being a little off-centered (either on the scoop or the whole car), rather than a mis-match like the one shown.
Thanks again for posting--I bet this is a fairly common occurrence.
Even a blind pig finds an acorn now and again! It was time to take the body off and put it back on the buck for sanding, prep and paint. Before I did, I took a close look at J.K.'s pic above and followed his instructions. I put the deck lid back on and pulled the windshield off then taped a string to the center of the liecence plate light housing. I found the center of the nose and marked it then pulled the line down and taped it. Seems the front of the scoop is spot on in the center and only off by 1/8 inch on the rear of the scoop! My scoop is 11 inches wide. I have 5.5" on each side of the center line. The battery went dead on my camera as I was taking the LH side pic. But its centered! Thats a win! maybe FFR fixed the off center scoop issue???
Jim if you can run that string and check your center line, you might get lucky as well!
Seems the front of the scoop is spot on in the center and only off by 1/8 inch on the rear of the scoop! Thats a win! maybe FFR fixed the off center scoop issue???
Jim if you can run that string and check your center line, you might get lucky as well!
Allyn
I thought that it was beer-thirty, but after reading your post I went back out and checked--my results aren't quite as good as yours, but they're pretty close!
I'm spot-on in the front, and about 3/8" off in the back (you have to look closely in the pics to see my gold marker lines from when I cut the scoop opening). I think it's close enough that I'll stripe the car just as if everything is perfectly centered. I don't think it will be too noticeable.
I think the variance in the rear of the hood resulted from how I trimmed the hood to fit the opening.
Thanks for your post!
Edit: For those of you who, like me, don't know what they're doing half the time, I spent about 60 seconds running that string line, whereas I spent an hour trying to properly mark the center of the hood for the scoop onening. If I'd thought to run the string line instead of measuring for the scoop opening, I would have saved an hour and achieved a much better (perfect) result. Live and learn.
Jim, Great news!
Its a shame FFR wont edit their build manual anymore. It would have been an easy update to find that centerline using J.K.'s string method. Go figure!
I thought that it was beer-thirty, but after reading your post I went back out and checked--my results aren't quite as good as yours, but they're pretty close!
I'm spot-on in the front, and about 3/8" off in the back (you have to look closely in the pics to see my gold marker lines from when I cut the scoop opening). I think it's close enough that I'll stripe the car just as if everything is perfectly centered. I don't think it will be too noticeable.
I think the variance in the rear of the hood resulted from how I trimmed the hood to fit the opening.
Thanks for your post!
Edit: For those of you who, like me, don't know what they're doing half the time, I spent about 60 seconds running that string line, whereas I spent an hour trying to properly mark the center of the hood for the scoop onening. If I'd thought to run the string line instead of measuring for the scoop opening, I would have saved an hour and achieved a much better (perfect) result. Live and learn.
You'll be able to work with it. As I said earlier, you have to make it LOOK right even if a tape measure says it isn't and you may have to do that by tricking the eye but still hitting the landmarks. For example, you want the stripe to be equidistant on both left and right sides from the front edge of the scoop flange, even if it means that the overall width of the stripe on one side is maybe 1/4" less than the other. Our eye won't pick up on that...but if the stripe is 1/4" from the scoop on one side and 1/2" on the other we WILL see that.
Originally Posted by buttsjim
...but I think I'd prefer the striping being a little off-centered (either on the scoop or the whole car),
Just don't be like this guy! The stripe doesn't hit the center of the radiator opening...or the scoop...or the rivets at the front edge of the hood...even the rear view mirror.
That's one of those "once you see it you can't unsee it" deals!
While we're on the subject. For those of you playing along at home, I do the scoop hole cutout differently than what FFR says (My California buddy Ken Pike does his similarly for the same reasons).
This accomplishes two things; first of all it is smaller than the inner profile of the scoop which allows "wiggle room" for getting the scoop placed exactly where you need it and secondly it falls centered inside of the indentation on the underside of the hood. If the cut out is done precisely to the inside of the scoop and it ends up offset the hole will also be offset on the underside in relation to the indentation and will look "off" when the hood is raised. This pic shows the dimensions; corners are done with a 3 1/2" hole saw.
Here you can see the screw holes that show the outside shape of the scoop in relation to the cutout.
You'll be able to work with it. As I said earlier, you have to make it LOOK right even if a tape measure says it isn't and you may have to do that by tricking the eye but still hitting the landmarks. For example, you want the stripe to be equidistant on both left and right sides from the front edge of the scoop flange, even if it means that the overall width of the stripe on one side is maybe 1/4" less than the other. Our eye won't pick up on that...but if the stripe is 1/4" from the scoop on one side and 1/2" on the other we WILL see that.Jeff
Thanks, Jeff! There's lot's of good advice and ideas in this post and your others - both to help me recover from my mistake, and to keep others from doing the same. I definitely want stripes, and I'll be using your suggestions to make them look right. It kills me that I spent all that time trying to measure the exact center point on the hood, when I could have gotten a much better result in about 60 seconds using your string method. I need to build another Cobra so that I can apply all that I've learned!
Jim B
Thanks, Jeff! There's lot's of good advice and ideas in this post and your others - both to help me recover from my mistake, and to keep others from doing the same. I definitely want stripes, and I'll be using your suggestions to make them look right. It kills me that I spent all that time trying to measure the exact center point on the hood, when I could have gotten a much better result in about 60 seconds using your string method. I need to build another Cobra so that I can apply all that I've learned!
Jim B
What about buying a new hood from FFR, and cutting that hole properly, now that you know the correct method? Seems like a little more expense now would save you frustration later.
Greg
Built an early MkIII years ago, sold years ago. Back after 18 years to build a MkIV Build Thread Here Partners: Levy Racing, Summit Racing, LMR, Breeze, Forte's Parts, Speedhut, ReplicaParts
MkIV Complete Kit Ordered 4/18/23, Delivered 7/11/23, Boss 427W, Edelbrock Pro Flo 4, TKX (.68 5th), IRS, Wilwood Brakes, 18" Halibrands, Toyo R888R Tires, Custom Speedhut Gauges
What about buying a new hood from FFR, and cutting that hole properly, now that you know the correct method? Seems like a little more expense now would save you frustration later.
Greg
I've thought very seriously about that, but I have to take a wait-and-see approach. I retired from my job last week (at age 73), and now I'm on a budget. No more "fire at will" when it comes to buying Cobra goodies. I will at least check the price of the hood with shipping, but I think that with Jeff's suggestions, I can make do with what I have. By the way, I presume that by "cutting the hole properly", you mean cutting according to Jeff's method, rather than by the instructions--if so, I agree with Allyn that it's time for FFR to edit their manual!
I've thought very seriously about that, but I have to take a wait-and-see approach. I retired from my job last week (at age 73), and now I'm on a budget. No more "fire at will" when it comes to buying Cobra goodies. I will at least check the price of the hood with shipping, but I think that with Jeff's suggestions, I can make do with what I have. By the way, I presume that by "cutting the hole properly", you mean cutting according to Jeff's method, rather than by the instructions--if so, I agree with Allyn that it's time for FFR to edit their manual!
Factory Five has a MkIII hood in their parts section for $600...I assume a MkIV would be a similar price. Yep, by proper method, I mean the JK method. Agree with you that the FFR manual could use some help in this section.
Congrats in your retirement!! Big milestone.
Greg
Built an early MkIII years ago, sold years ago. Back after 18 years to build a MkIV Build Thread Here Partners: Levy Racing, Summit Racing, LMR, Breeze, Forte's Parts, Speedhut, ReplicaParts
MkIV Complete Kit Ordered 4/18/23, Delivered 7/11/23, Boss 427W, Edelbrock Pro Flo 4, TKX (.68 5th), IRS, Wilwood Brakes, 18" Halibrands, Toyo R888R Tires, Custom Speedhut Gauges
Everything went well with the windshield installation. I opened up the post openings according to Terry Martin’s suggestion, and since I was installing the windshield by myself, I put lots of masking tape around the openings to prevent scratching the gel coat.
I found that the easiest/safest way to get the windshield in place was to hold it horizontally until the posts could drop into their respective openings, and then angle the windshield up into its proper position. The windshield slid all the way into place and rested on the body without having to shorten the side posts.
I marked the ½” holes 3 different times with 3 different color Sharpies to be sure of their correct location. The lower hole on each post was close to the edge so, instead of ½” holes, I drilled and tapped for M12-1.75x30 bolts, which are slightly smaller than the supplied ½” bolts. The ½” washers worked fine with the M12 bolts (using SAE 7/16” bolts might have been better for consistency’s sake, but I used metric because that’s what I had on hand). The smaller 13/32” threaded holes for the M12 bolts left me about an 1/8” between each lower hole and the edge of the posts
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I take horrible pictures - that isn't black paint on the post, but the reflection of my phone.
I put temporary 1/16” spacers between the windshield and the body before bolting it down in its final position. I think that the smaller bolt holes made it easier to start the bolts, as I got all four screwed in finger tight in about 2 minutes. The right side was a piece of cake. On the left side, I turned the car’s power off at the kill switch to make sure that I didn’t do any accidental welding, and was able to reach in above the fuse panel without much trouble.
The results are good--the windshield measures exactly 27” from the door opening to the center of the top screw on the post, and it’s still in one piece. And, I’m happy.
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Originally Posted by TMartinLVNV
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