These cars are made to be driven. However the elements sometimes can be very challenging. We built ours with a heater and seat heaters, but the open cockpit can really be uncomfortable at 30 degrees and 30 mph. The addition of a ‘lap blanket’ puts all the components into play and makes for a very comfortable ride. The blanket snaps to the underside of the dash, trapping heat into the cockpit. It is under the seatbelts so heat generated by the heater is focused on your lower body. Read More →

Spindle Replacement The tapered joints of the balljoint are pulled into the spindle with 100 ft/lbs of torque. These joints are tight! To remove or replace parts, some recommend putting a pickle fork tool between the ball joint and hit it with the biggest hammer you can find. I was concerned this would destroy the rubber boot that surrounds the balljoint. A jacking screw generates the necessary forces to safely take the joint apart without destroying anything. I made the screw using a 3″ piece of 1/2-13 threaded rod and two coupling nuts. I cut a couple 1/4″ pieces of the rod and threaded themRead 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 →

How long and do I need a shop? I know people who have assembled a kit in as short as four months while working a normal 8-5 job. It can be done. My build took me three years to complete but I took my time and made a lot of modifications along the way. I was working a normal job and rarely did I work on the car except on the weekends. I didn’t keep track but I estimate around 2,000 hours. As far as space, I did it in one half of a two car garage. With rare exception, my wife parked her carRead More →

Fast forward to plating carburetor parts. Need fuel rail to install manifold. Spent time learning the Caswell Plating CopyCAD process. System is really slick. Parts look brand new.Read More →

My build is going to be on “my side” of a two car garage. I want to leave room for my wife’s car. The logical solution is the body buck to raise the Cobra body over the work area until it is mounted on the frame. I found a very good article on the FactoryFive forum about building a buck.  Bill Haas has done an excellent job on compiling the data for Factory Five buck. It would fit my needs exactly, with one exception – the contours are for a Factory Five, not for a Hurricane. A little layout work and I have generated aRead More →