blueoval_bowtie_guy
08-10-2013, 06:15 PM
Got my Cobra a complete physical! I took my Cobra to Mark Dougherty (The Traveling Builder) back in January. I asked him to go over it and tell me what it needed. I knew it was leaking oil, leaking coolant and I wanted a 4 wheel alignment (I needed the rear hubs adjusted out because I wanted to remove the spacers from behind my rear wheels). While the car was in his shop I wanted it converted from manual steering and brakes to power steering and brakes (I always felt like the brake pedal required too much force). I asked him to go over the whole car and pay particular attention to the suspension because other than raw acceleration, it just wasn't FUN to drive.
I told him I was thinking of buying or building a V-8 Miata because I wanted the acceleration of the Cobra and the fun to drive factor of the Miata. He asked me to describe what the car was doing. I told him that I've had the car aligned a couple times, including with me sitting in the car but even with that the car would at times want to pull to the right and other times it would pull to the left. What surprised me was that the first question he asked was when I bought my kit. When I responded with January '04, he told me he knew exactly what the problem was. Apparently, there was a batch of the inner steel sleeves for the front lower control arms that were a little bit too big. This caused the front suspension to bind. He then said that the difference in the pulling was caused by the suspension sticking and not returning to where it should be.
He told me he would need the car for several months. Since it was winter, that was no big deal to me. A couple months later he called me with the dreaded "I've got bad news for you." message. Once they really looked at the car they realized that not only was the rear main seal leaking (which can be replaced with the engine in the car), but the right head gasket was also leaking. The engine was going to have to come out of the car. This, of course, was going to add quite a bit to my total repair bill and the amount of time it would take before I got the car back. He gave me an estimate and I told him to fix it.
Fast forward another month or so and he asked me to come to the shop so he could show me what else they found after they got the engine torn down to the short block. Apparently, not only was the head gasket leaking, the leak corroded the head a bit. The heads would have to be disassembled and milled to clean up the gasket surface. He also showed me yet another leak where the gasket had failed between the intake manifold and the head.
Geeze, I was starting to sweat it now. This was AFTER Joan and I bought a house in Florida and started planning our move from PA to FL. A couple more months went by with a few conversations with Mark getting an update on the progress and getting an ETA on when it would be done.
I got it back in June! I am totally and completely amazed at how much of a difference it made. The car wants to go in whatever direction the steering wheel tells it to go! I can let go of the steering wheel at 80mph with NO drifting. I don't have ANY oil leaks anymore! I still have a leak in the radiator (it pressure tested multiple times with no leaks) but it still has a leak when it gets hot. I would NOT recommend a Ron Davis radiator! I bought it because it was supposed to be the best one out there. Not! The speed shop that built my engine has since gone out of business (no surprise there with how well they built mine!). I've kicked myself quite a few times for not buying a crate engine (my wife told me to go ahead and get one!). I already owned a 1974 351W and I knew it was standard bore and would be a great core for a 408 stroker kit, so I decided to take it to a speed shop in New Jersey and get it custom built. What we learn in hindsight is amazing. I could have bought a top of the line 408w from any number of builders for less than I had in mine BEFORE it had to come out and get resealed.
If any of you have any work that you either don't think you can handle (time or otherwise), don't hesitate to contact Mark. He REALLY knows Cobras AND he will work to stay within the original budget. One thing I wanted was to get my windshield wipers to work. He didn't do that and a couple other little things because he didn't want to go over his original estimate. This is now on my future 'wish list'.
His business is called 'The Traveling Builder' because he WILL come to you if that is what you want. He currently has a couple of 33s in the shop plus a Cobra in fairly early stages of assembly.
I told him I was thinking of buying or building a V-8 Miata because I wanted the acceleration of the Cobra and the fun to drive factor of the Miata. He asked me to describe what the car was doing. I told him that I've had the car aligned a couple times, including with me sitting in the car but even with that the car would at times want to pull to the right and other times it would pull to the left. What surprised me was that the first question he asked was when I bought my kit. When I responded with January '04, he told me he knew exactly what the problem was. Apparently, there was a batch of the inner steel sleeves for the front lower control arms that were a little bit too big. This caused the front suspension to bind. He then said that the difference in the pulling was caused by the suspension sticking and not returning to where it should be.
He told me he would need the car for several months. Since it was winter, that was no big deal to me. A couple months later he called me with the dreaded "I've got bad news for you." message. Once they really looked at the car they realized that not only was the rear main seal leaking (which can be replaced with the engine in the car), but the right head gasket was also leaking. The engine was going to have to come out of the car. This, of course, was going to add quite a bit to my total repair bill and the amount of time it would take before I got the car back. He gave me an estimate and I told him to fix it.
Fast forward another month or so and he asked me to come to the shop so he could show me what else they found after they got the engine torn down to the short block. Apparently, not only was the head gasket leaking, the leak corroded the head a bit. The heads would have to be disassembled and milled to clean up the gasket surface. He also showed me yet another leak where the gasket had failed between the intake manifold and the head.
Geeze, I was starting to sweat it now. This was AFTER Joan and I bought a house in Florida and started planning our move from PA to FL. A couple more months went by with a few conversations with Mark getting an update on the progress and getting an ETA on when it would be done.
I got it back in June! I am totally and completely amazed at how much of a difference it made. The car wants to go in whatever direction the steering wheel tells it to go! I can let go of the steering wheel at 80mph with NO drifting. I don't have ANY oil leaks anymore! I still have a leak in the radiator (it pressure tested multiple times with no leaks) but it still has a leak when it gets hot. I would NOT recommend a Ron Davis radiator! I bought it because it was supposed to be the best one out there. Not! The speed shop that built my engine has since gone out of business (no surprise there with how well they built mine!). I've kicked myself quite a few times for not buying a crate engine (my wife told me to go ahead and get one!). I already owned a 1974 351W and I knew it was standard bore and would be a great core for a 408 stroker kit, so I decided to take it to a speed shop in New Jersey and get it custom built. What we learn in hindsight is amazing. I could have bought a top of the line 408w from any number of builders for less than I had in mine BEFORE it had to come out and get resealed.
If any of you have any work that you either don't think you can handle (time or otherwise), don't hesitate to contact Mark. He REALLY knows Cobras AND he will work to stay within the original budget. One thing I wanted was to get my windshield wipers to work. He didn't do that and a couple other little things because he didn't want to go over his original estimate. This is now on my future 'wish list'.
His business is called 'The Traveling Builder' because he WILL come to you if that is what you want. He currently has a couple of 33s in the shop plus a Cobra in fairly early stages of assembly.