The body I received was very high quality – on the outside. The inner edges left a lot to be desired. Two issues; 1) voids in gel coat and underlying glass had to be repaired to insure integrity of the finish and 2) I knew that people would be feeling the edge to determine the type of body. I could emulate aluminum but I could make it as close as possible. The body openings, on the inside, looked as if they had been cut out with a dull pocket knife. In many areas, the glass laminate had separated and presented voids. The arrows point toRead More →

Fiberglass is Fiberglass The title is mis-leading. Yes, fiberglass is fiberglass but is it poly, vinyl or epoxy? And within a family, are various brands compatible? Fortunately, building two fiberglass cobras prior to tackling the GT40, I had some fiberglass experience. The good part is the GT40 was originally fiberglass so the build is consistent with this process.  Body MaterialsThe Hurricane body is polyester resin over glass fiber. I will attempt to stay with the same manufacturers, to avoid any compatibility problems.  GlassworkI chose to go with Evercoat products. Part personal preference and part due to the overwhelming use of Rage Gold as the finishingRead More →

Wheel alignment “Stringing” a car is the way racer’s do wheel alignment. You don’t need a fancy (expensive) computer aligner if you are willing to do some setup and understand basic measurements. Setup: Prior to starting the alignment process, you need to determine the desired ride height of the vehicle. Adjust your coil-overs to the height you want and the vehicle is setting at the desired ride height. You should know the rolling radius of your tires. (It is not the diameter of the tire divided in half). To do the alignment, the frame should be setting level. I cut up some 2 x 6Read More →

Finishing up all the little details. Car essentially done, appointment made for State Police inspection Sill moldingDifferent designs offer different methods of placing a trim piece. The trick is how do you transition from painted metal(fiberglass) to carpet and cover the raw edge. I learned from some buddy’s of an aluminum extrusion, traditionally used for edging on tile counters. M-D Products part number A813 gives a smooth aluminum extruded finish with a small lip to cover the edge of the carpet and screw holes to attach to the body. The molding is easily formed to the shape of the door opening.Read More →

Build 2 – HM2023 It really helped to have done this once before. And having done it, there were just a few more features to add. The original details are below this update. I moved the outboard lower floor to more resemble the original builds If you’ve ever tried to change the oil and drain an oil cooler, you’ll appreciate the addition of a drain bung to the bottom of the oil cooler Having scraped the nose more than once, I added a chin guard of Stainless Steel. Not visible but it might reduce some scrapes. Build 1 – HM1078 Oil Cooler I chose toRead More →

I’ve been asked numerous times, what I felt was the hardest part about building a car. Undoubtedly, the most difficult part of building a replica car is selecting the color. I’ve always driven red cars, but red is for Ferrari’s. Yellow – Corvette.  Blue? Almost every Cobra is Blue with White stripes – I don’t want to be like everyone else. (The original racing colors were to be white with blue, but Ole Shel’ had some issues with the establishment, so he chose blue with white) My wife has always preferred white cars, she drove a white Miata. Without her, this project would have neverRead More →

Huge Milestone Day. Fired motor for the first time. SSWWEEEETT! She fired right up and ran like a champ. 45 year old carburetors still do what they are supposed to. Big Block FE – 431″ – TriPower – Hyd. Roller Cam/Roller Rockers – all the goodies. Gotta Love the sound of a Big Block Throttle: posted pictures of finished mechanical throttle linkage Glovebox: details on the glovebox build  Read More →

Wires…Wires…Wires  man, this is tedious. I think I’m making progress. Added link to Gateway Cobra ClubRead More →

Pieces are beginning to come together. Installed cooling system and hydraulic reservoir system Hydraulic ReservoirsThe original S/C cars came with Girling hydraulics, which incorporated  remote reservoirs, mounted on the engine compartment wall. The originals ued two larger reservoirs for the brakes and one smaller for the clutch. Incorporating this into the build presents a number of challenges. The taller reservoir cans were also used on the 3000 series Austin Healy’s. But those also are almost impossible to find. The smaller can is the same size as is commonly used for PVC solvent cans.  It is common place to use three smaller cans due to theRead More →

Posted info on pedal modification to fit AC style pedals onto Wilwood clutch/brake assembly. The Hurricane kit comes with Wilwood brake and clutch pedals. One of the first mod’s everyone goes to is to incorporate the AC pedal into your car. Just makes it look better. Pedals purchased from Finishline Accessories come “un-machined” on the back boss. It is approximately 3/4″ thick. I mounted mine by machining a 3/16″ slot thru this boss, cutting the pedal arms on the Wilwood assembly to make a lever end, then cross-drilled for a 1/4″ bolt and nut. Hopefully the pictures will show how it was done When IRead More →