Body and Chassis Meet for the First Time

The chassis has been completed with all the hinging points mounted and the body has been trimmed and cleaned up and is now ready to be fitted to the chassis.
The body is lifted on to the chassis and an alignment jig is attached to ensure that the profile of the body maintains it's correct shape.
With the body correctly aligned to the chassis, pre made fibreglass mounting profiles are firstly fitted to the chassis with screws then bonded to the body. These mounting profiles run under the front fenders, under the dash area, around the rear bulkhead and rear boot area and along both sides of the exhaust tunnel.
Once the alignment is confirmed, the body is removed and final bonding of the mounting profiles is carried out
Tabs have been incorporated into the body mould for the fitment of a piece of timber to maintain the cockpit gap when removing and installing the body.
At this stage the cut outs such as head lights, tail lights, bonnet scoop, vents, side pipe and roll bar holes are done. The body is then refitted to the chassis and doors, bonnet and boot are fitted and aligned. It is at this stage of construction that I take over.

Until next instalment.

Cheers

Russell

Body Construction

The Pace 427 body consists of full gloss, perfectly straight body panels constructed using high carbon content composites which are very light weight (around 46kg) and a lot stronger than fibre glass. The doors are constructed from a carbon/kevlar combination which gives additional protection for the occupants from side impact



A wide choice of high gloss gel coats are available and the finish straight from the mould is exceptional to the point that unless you require a show quality finish, paint is not required.
I have chosen to go with the black with either a wide silver or satin black strip with narrow 1/2" stripes on either side of the wide stripe

The body, once removed from the mould is sat in a rack that holds the form of the body until it is ready for trimming. In the photo you can see the rack that holds one body upright and another on top upside down.

The body goes through a trimming process where all the rough edges are removed and a general clean up takes place. The body is placed aside for general curing ready to meet up and be matched with it's chassis. More on this next post.

Cheers

Russell

Back Tracking...

While I was waiting for my body and chassis to be built there was a lot going on in the back ground and I would like to bring readers up to date on the process.

Once I had figured out the way I wanted to go I ordered a Cobra with finishing kit (this kit contains all component to finish the car including wheels and tyres, no donor parts except drivetrain) from Absolute Pace in Queensland. I decided early on in the process to keep the asthetics as near to original as possible and very old school while the suspension and drive train would come into current times.

The pics above are of the all aluminium monocoque chassis construction process through various stages.

Next post I will go through the body construction from laying up the high carbon content body to completion.

Cheers

Russell

It's been a long time coming

I finally picked up my Cobra from Absolute Pace on 29th August. A friend of mine and I did a road trip from Geelong to the Gold Coast with our trailer to pick up the car which I thought was the better thing to do as I do not completely trust the freight companies with so many boxes of bits and a perfect outline of a Cobra to be seen by all. At least if it was in my possession and things went wrong, well, that is my fault but after 3800klm we got back in perfect condition.

The trip went very smoothly and my co driver was good company as he is a car nut as well so he has taken a lot of interest in what I am doing. Probably the only issue we had was the cladding of the trailer was popping rivets to the point we had to pull over and tie the sides of the trailer together

Having got the car back home, we just rounded up the neighbours and lifted the body and chassis onto a trolley that I made
Then started to sort out where all the bits go.

I am a long way down the track now but I will post more pics in the next few days.

Things Are Happening Now

Well, we are getting closer to delivery date now. Craig from Pace has told me to expect a delivery date of 18 April 2014 and I wait in anticipation. This has come at the right time as I am now ready to take on the project after making several adjustments to make way for my car.

I will be receiving the car with all components to complete the project with the exception of the engine, drive train and assocciated bits and upolstery of coarse.

A business colleage of mine is going to join me on a trip from Geelong to the Gold Coast to bring the Cobra back on a trailer, probably a 4000km journey but I like the idea of another road trip and lots of fun plus I will be a whole lot happier with the car in my care supported by my insurance broker.

I have already ordered the engine and gearbox and a host of other components out of the USA just waiting final delivery advise from Pace then I will get these bits in just in time to fit them. Sounds easy doesn't it.

I am currently making a pair of mobile tressels to carry the chassis until I get to a point where the wheels can be fitted and it can be rolled around my modest garage.

One thing I want to add to this blog in way of helping me make the decisions and seeking direction is the invaluable help and friendship of the members of the Victorian Cobra Car Club. So many people want to contribute to my project and each one offers something of value.

As soon as I take delivery of my car, I will start to post photos of my progress and things that I do and will also put my aging ramblings into the public domain.

Until next time

Cheers

Another Step Forward

I had the opportunity to spend some time at Absolute Pace last Monday and was given a complete tour of the operation by the owner Craig White.
Pace is as I imagined it to be from looking at the quality of the products. As one would expect, it is a very professional and well laid out organisation from the fabrication, body shop and assembly area and seeing the design and quality of what is being produced laid out in component form has convinced me that my decision to go with Pace has been the right one.

Before leaving Pace I went through the build sheet (build No.27) and ordered the upgraded carbon fibre/kevlar light weight body. This body is very light and has additional strenght and the finish on both the outside and underside is remarkable. I also ordered the urethane rod ends over the sperical type as this will improve the ride quality and reduce mechanical noise and vibration. Motivation will be provided by a new 5.0 Coyote Aluminator coupled to a TKO-600 5 speed with 0.64 overdrive 5th gear.Ultimately I would like to fit an 8 stack injector system along with Cammer type valve (coil) covers and a good tune. The rear differential supplied as standard is a ZF aluminium housed 2.92 non-LSD type but to me, having a non-LSD in a car as light as a Cobra and having over 450 plus hp on tap would create some unexpected and unwanted excitement at the most inappropriate time so I have gone with a 3.70 LSD. I think the higher ratio with an 0.64 overdrive 5th gear would result in a car that performs very well and also provides economical cruising. Another option I settled on was to have Pace carry out all the cut outs for lights,side exhausts,windscreen posts,roll bar etc as they have the templates and the right tools and without the right knowledge, errors will eventually happen and that would not be good. The colour scheme I have chosen is black with silver stripes and all black interior. The side pipes will be coated in the aluminized colour. Standard wheels for the Pace is 15" Halibrand style pin drives which look sensational the way they fill out the fender wells and as I am going for the traditional look, this is what I will use. I originally wanted to run live side pipes but have decided to use them for looks only.The more I spoke to people the more I could see the dangers with them. My reasons for this is primarily the risk of passangers getting severely burned and children, in their excitement standing on hot pipes to get a better look at the car. Contributing to third degree burns on some poor soul is not an exciting prospect. With this in mind, Pace have incorporated under car exhaust tunnels on either side to drop the pipes just behind the rear wheels and out of site.

The delivery schedule is expected for March 2014. When the car is ready, I will go to Pace and assemble it into a steerable roller and trailer it back to Geelong. I have been offered the use of a trailer with a front covered section so that most of the bonnet will be enclosed inside this section and I would feel more comfortable with the car being in my care. Once production has started, I will be provided with photos of the build from Pace which I will post as I get them and will continue with updates right through construction to registration and maybe post some of the adventures we get to have. Until next time...

Decison Made

Well, it has been 18 months since I first contributed to this blog. 18 months of research that included checking out manufacturers, cars for sale and listening to the advise of a lot of people I respect.

I have for some time had a leaning towards a new concept of Cobra that is being developed on the Gold Coast but I also looked at a variety of other manufacturers and cars for sale and I must say that from an engineering perspective, even though there are some great vehicles being produced, the Absolute Pace is streets ahead not only in it's design but in it's pricing as well.

I have come to the point in my life after building Street Rods and Custom Cars that grovelling around in the dirt and grease is not for me. I have no desire to get dirt under my finger nails and what Absolute Pace is providing is precisely that, a complete package of components that allows one to build a car using new parts that work well without the need to get a donor car.

I had the opportunity to attend the Cobra National in Goulburn last weekend and saw the Pace car in the flesh, to me it was a no brainer as it fitted everything I wanted in a project including the magnificent design and sheer quality in what they are doing. They are pulling the bodies from the mould equal to a fully finished and painted body.

All that aside, I have now placed a deposit on a comprehensive Pace kit incorporating their full carbon fibre light weight body that should be delivered with in the next 12-16 weeks or from my point of view, what ever it takes as long as the package is complete.

This has been a long haul but I feel that I have made the right decision and look forward to receiving the all the bits when they are available.

My next project is to order the Coyote Aluminator and TKO-600 along with the clutch, alternator, starter and all the other bits to make this thing work.

See you next time