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!

And then comes the floor.

A fair bit of progress over the past few months. Well for me anyway.

Gutter and downpipes installed and all the flashings finished up top.

Installed power and lighting. Used LED tubes in some old fluoro mounts I had; just removed the starters to bypass the ballast. It is as bright as day in there now.

Finished levelling the floor, prepped and poured the concrete today. Minimum 100mm thick with heavy duty reo, and as it took so long to go off today we expect it will be VERY tough. Shouldn't be a problem though as I don't have enough height for a hoist or anything but it is good to know anyway.

It happens to be Motorclassica in Melbourne this weekend so I am off there tomorrow for a bit of car bling to spur me on. I've recently visit Craig White at Absolute Pace in Queensland a few times and am quite taken with his Pace 427SC replica and he has come down for the show too, so will be good to a catch up with him.

So I've nearly run out of excuses. Shed nearly done. Kit pretty well chosen. Just need a bit more cash and off we go!

Shed roof done

Another small step completed now with a roof installed. I used double c-channel steel rafters (engineering required only singles) so if necessary I can use them for load bearing work. Although I don't expect they'd support much. Maybe 200kg at a pinch.

Will be installing LED lighting soon, then when more money is saved I am going to get a professional to pour and level the slab floor for me.

Big step forward (for the garage anyway)

Cleared the soil and knocked the rest of the walls down this weekend. Removed about 6m of soil. And had fun with a Dingo too-boot! Well it was actually a Toro, like a Dingo but with tracks instead of wheels.

Now we're going to clean those old bricks - handmade Hawthorn bricks can fetch $2 to $3 each - which will pay for the skip and Toro hire!

Then I can prep for the laying of a concrete floor. Busy summer ahead.

Minor Garage Progress

Some small progress.

Finally got the gas meter relocated. And they fixed the leak at the same time (the old meter has been leaking for years, despite repeated callouts and subsequent denials). The distributor gas man who came took one look at it and said 'Wow - how long has that been leaking' - before I said anything. Sigh.








Also started knocking down the small existing shed and put mini-me to work cleaning the bricks. 50c each!


My intention is to re-use these bricks to build two walls to complete the sides of the proposed shed.















Set a small footing for the first of the two short walls.



Next step, once the first wall is done, is to get a bob-cat to excavate and prep the site for the slab.