First, some dismantling

Happy New Year! 2015 - the year of my cobra :-)

It is much easier to work on the car with the body removed. In fact for some jobs it is really essential. Fortunately, AP ship the body mounted and aligned with side bolted (and not loctited) but only temporarily fixed front and rear, so it is a fairly straight forward task to remove.

I built a wooden frame with the same width as the chassis so the sides bolted straight on. Then a couple of pieces of timber to spread the load from and rear. The body is mainly carbon fibre so is quite rigid and light, plus there is framing pieces bonded inside where the front and rear firewalls are that actually keep the curve across the body in shape.

I don't have much space, so this frame and body contraption is now lifted into my carport roof, and my daily drivers can slide underneath just nicely.

The working garage is now much roomier without the body; I've turned the chassis around so I can begin work on the engine bay heat shields and pedal box next.

Thanks very much to Pete and Ben who dropped by in Pete's 'Stang for a look-see and ended up working for a few hours! Here's a gratuitous pic of his car!

She has arrived!

Well Christmas 2014 will be long remembered in my household. Last Friday I accepted delivery of my Pace 427 S/C kit! So we have the chassis and body (fitted - for now) and umpteen boxes of parts!

As you can see, everything is well packed for shipping, and packaging of the parts is well thought out (with little boxes for all the bolts). I have most everything at home now (except the engine, gearbox, diff and exhaust system).

So the next few weeks will be full of sorting and making up sub-assemblies, as well as finding a temporary home for the body which will come off to give easier access to the chassis for the bulk of the mechanical build.

Body time

Laying up the carbon fibre and kevlar body is next, with a new blend of blue I think we're calling Indigo. Yes, it does look a bit Cadbury, but in the flesh apparently it 'really pops'. 

Finally, she's out of the mould and fitted to the chassis. We just need a few more holes cut, then on to the next stage which is packing all the bits.

In the meantime, back at my ranch, using my newfound welding skills I've built a trolley to host the build for the first stages. Much like the trolleys at the Absolute Pace factory you can see in the pics above. I just finished an intro to welding night course at the local TAFE.

Chassis Completed

My chassis is done now and occupies the showroom, waiting nakedly for the body.

Another Cobra is Born!

Well yesterday I received very exciting news. My Cobra chassis is now on the jig being welded into shape. Should start to see some good progress now.

Kit Decision Made

Well after lots of deliberation and discussions with suppliers and fellow Vic Cobra Club members, I've decided on the kit for the Cobra.

Absolute Pace in Queensland have developed a new, aluminium semi-monocoque chassis with mostly manufactured new components, and somewhat predictably called the Pace427. It is receiving top reviews by most who have seen the vehicle and Craig White's factory in Arundel, although as of today no-one has completed and registered a Pace427. I am confident the risk of ending up with an 'unregisterable' Cobra is small and manageable.

A major part of the decision to go with the Pace427 is the body and space this creates for the occupants. At 6'1" with a long torso, I'm often told I look like Noddy when sitting in a convertible with my head above the windscreen! 

I've visited Craig's factory twice in the past year, and I am very impressed with the quality of the components I've seen. The passion driving all those I've spoken to at the factory is also impressive. The finish on the body gelcoat is fantastic, and will aid the budget - I don't think I'll need to paint the car initially. This will allow me to spend the budget on the build for now. If I get bored and/or rich in the next few years I can always change colours then!

Shed ready!

Last few weekends have seen some good work and we now have a working shed!

Built the back wall from timber, and re-tasked the old garden gate to be the back door. I needed to weld an extension to the frame as well as some extra hinges.












(It is clear my welding skills are next to non-existent so I either need to do a course and/or get help if anything needs welding on my Cobra!)

Added some shelves and the all-important work bench. It is timber, but I think I'll get a sheet of metal on top as working with cars is a bit different to working with wood :-) But it is good and solid as you can see.

Also had a tradies special day at Total Tools last week so I stocked up on a few items including a decent vice for half price! Win!

And no shortage of power points as you can see. These are on a separate 15 amp fuse, just so you know! 

Finally, rolled out the compressor from storage and my tools draws I got for my birthday a few months back, and voila! All I need now is a kit car! Bring it on!