Black is black...

Well, the car's been gone now for almost a week and Max, who's painting it says that work is currently progressing well, with no issues so far.  All being well, the car will be ready week commencing 17 June, which means that I will sadly not be unveiling it at Roger and Morag's soiree, so I'll bring my 911 instead.

I literally cannot wait to see it painted - I know I'm not going to be disappointed, as these guys really know what they're doing and properly understand the standard of finish that I want to achieve here.

Once it's out of paint, it's in for trim with Richard Hodson, plus some mechanic tweaks around brakes, possibly exhausts and a thorough service.  It'll be a close call for Silverstone, but it will be there!

Lee

Looking forward to seeing it Lee, I am still prepared to be surprised by the actual colour on the day 😊 

and so you should be David; the article I wrote on the Psychedelic car has left quite an impression on me!

You see, a bare aluminium car is such a blank canvas, isn't it and all this 'originality lark' gets pushed right out of the window when you start to consider all of the possibilities...

But you know I'm only kidding, right?

It's September 1965 all the way here at Marshall Towers!

And a further update on paint progress to date; the car is about to go into primer, having been filled where appropriate to lose some of the small imperfections in the aluminium body and Max commented on the excellent standard of the body.  Panel fit is now uniformly tight, having passed the pound coin test around the boot, bonnet and door openings so they're happy with progress to date and commented that they wished all cars they work on arrived bare bodied!

Once applied, the primer will be left to cure for a couple of days and then the colour can finally go on, most likely early next week.  I had initially hoped it would be ready to collect late next week, but I'm happy to wait a little longer, as we're in no rush.  I want it right, rather than fast.

I met Richard Hodson today to brief in the trim and mechanical work and he's confident of a fix around the noisy brake pads and is in touch with an historic specialist race engine builder to better understand if there is a need to help the car breathe easier from an exhaust perspective and an update will follow once that conversation has taken place, though gut feel is that I'm worrying unnecessarily (as per usual). 

So, we're making headway as each day passes...

Lee

Aren't you up for trimming it yourself, Lee?  There isn't exactly a lot of trim on a car like that!  The seats might be best done by a pro, but I suspect they're already finished.

Posted by: Roger King

Aren't you up for trimming it yourself, Lee?  There isn't exactly a lot of trim on a car like that!  The seats might be best done by a pro, but I suspect they're already finished.

Goodness no, Roger; I want it done properly so I'm giving it to a grown up to do!  

I'm best left to 'visualising' what I'm trying to achieve and then delegate appropriately.  My responsibility is to patinate it and I think I can just about do that.

Very much looking forward to seeing you in the very near future...

L

Well, the car came home today for a few hours before it was dispatched for it's final trim work, plus some mechanical tweaks before Silverstone.  The icing on the cake should be the fitment of some Kelsey-Hays 'Sunburst' wheels, uniquely seen on Street 427's.  I think I've secured some and will update on this shortly.  I am delighted with the quality of the paint which looks very period and I look forward to the car acquiring some gentle patina, but not too much too quickly! 

Looks fabulous Lee and the Sunburst wheels will be the icing and cherry on the cake.

Paul

You know you've reached a low point when you find yourself replying to your own posts, but nevertheless, I thought I would update those of you active on the forum on progress with my car, whilst everyone else enjoys themselves at the Le Mans Classic.

Straight from the painters, the car was dispatched to Richard Hodson for the trim to be completed, along with a brief to address a handful of small fixes and to tweak the overall driving experience.  I've now had 8 months to get to know the car, so it was entirely natural that there would be one or two areas to work on.

Well, we're one week into a two week timeline, so I dropped by yesterday to see how he was getting on.

The exhaust were off the car, to address a minor blow on the driver's side, plus he has strengthened the fittings to hopefully sort some minor rattles when the car was in motion. In truth, the fitment of an underslung system was very much unknown territory and whilst Dave has done a top job in slotting it in under the car, we both always acknowledged that it would be an ongoing project and it most definitely remains so!  Life would have been so much easier for everyone if I'd fitted sidepipes, but I remain resolute that the road I've taken is the right one - sorry for all the stress, Dave!

Still on exhausts, I've been consulting with some stateside Cobra knowledge regarding engine breathing as this has been a cause of concern to Mr Brookes and myself; happily, the consensus view is that there's nothing to worry about, as long as the diameter of the exhaust pipe is greater than that of the exhaust valves, which they are, so we can tick that particular point from the worry list. Yes, I will lose some power in the process, but that's probably no bad thing, given the reduced footprint on my car due to it having such narrow rear tyres relative to other S/C specified Cobra's.

Replacement brake pads have been ordered as the current ones are effective, but rather noisy, so we have hopefully found a sweet spot that reduces the noise, but protects the retardation - we'll soon see on that point...

Fluids have been changed in the engine and gearbox, the latter of which was very grainy, so we're going to keep a close eye (and ear) on the 'box in the coming weeks and month, plus we've retained a sample of the oil to share with the gearbox supplier in the good old US of A, just in case.

The wipers are now functioning correctly and the fuel tank is coming out today, as all fingers are pointing to the sender unit, rather than the gauge as the culprit of a reading that's up and down like a bride's nightie and once that's done, the trim work commences next week, which in truth is very minor.

And while all that's going on, I've ordered a set of Sunburst wheels from Gary Kumerow, which should finish the car of very nicely and these could (though probably won't) be here in time for Silverstone, which is now less than two weeks away.  The wheels were an unplanned investment, but are justified in completing an authentic 'street' specification and my gut feel is that if I don't get them now, I'll always regret it.

Here's to Silverstone...

Lee

It looks fab Lee, it really does.  I agree with Paul about the Sunburst wheels - well you already knew that!  Hope you'll let me drive this one too!

I've been around Cobras a very long time, as you know, and I think you could afford - as a street car - to raise it up a bit...would help with an underslung exhaust too.

Just sayin...

Colin

Just a tad, mind...

Thanks Colin!

I'll review the ride height once the Sunbursts are on, which could be next week if all the gods are smiling.  

Personally speaking and based on the research I've conducted here and for the most part in America, I do like the ride height as it stands, as for a Street car, it does sits 'just right'. 

Agreed - ground clearance is quite tight, with those bloody underslungs, but so far this hasn't been an issue at all and as we speak, the system has been refitted to give a few extra mm...

Lee

The gods are not smiling, apparently...

The wheels have arrived today and look stunning. We trial fitted them and they're perfect on the rear, but are fouling the brake callipers at the front, necessitating a little head scratching.

So, the solution will be to fit some billet spacers to the hub, along with slightly longer pins.  This will alleviate any machining to the wheels, which is something of a risk, given their 'turbine' design.

Fortunately, these wheels do sit considerably inboard compared to the Halibrand wheel, which means that even with a spacer fitted, they will sit 2mm 'in' of the Halibrand, which is important, to maintain a correct appearance.  At the rear, they're a little inboard too, which will heighten the narrow track of a street car.

So, the car won't be appearing this weekend on its' new wheels, but it will have a completed street interior, as the bulkhead has been trimmed, as have the door panels, with correct leather grab handles, hinge covers and map pockets.

So, whilst it's not quite finished, it's getting there.  First world issues then...

Lee

I think I would prefer to see a little more thread protruding beyond the spinner if it were mine. A couple of full threads would be ideal. Will the spacer reduce it even further?

Paul