Gumball
04-22-2014, 01:18 PM
I'm making a good-sized plexi car show sign for 7074 (optimistic that it's going to attend such things this year). The plan is for something a few feet high and a couple feet wide that is painted from behind with the same color as the car and that has vinyl lettering on the front.
This is what I have so far... yeah, I know the print will be smallish - I'm thinking it'll be roughly the size of one of those roadsign historic plaques. The formatting things, like centering, indentation, bold, underlining, and bullets didn't really come out well, but at least you can see the text.
No, really… it’s fake!
1965 AC Cobra Replica
From 1962 to 1967, Shelby American Inc. built just over 1,000 Cobras using rolling chassis/body assemblies supplied by AC Cars, Ltd. of England and V8 engines provided by Ford Motor Company. The car that AC provided was originally sold in the ‘50s as the AC Ace, which was powered by a straight-six engine made by Bristol. Instead of a six cylinder, Shelby installed V8s, starting with the 260, followed by the 289, then (between ’65 and ’67) the big block 427 and 428 (only about 300 big block cars were built). The Cobra, especially the early small block cars, went on to become a legend, winning many races and championships. These days, original Cobra values range from $500,000 to $1,500,000 or more, depending on the model and the car’s history. Check out a vintage race at places like Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI if you want to see one in its natural habitat – it’s amazing to see those cars still being run in anger! Like the originals, this car started as a chassis, body, suspension and other miscellaneous parts supplied by one manufacturer (Factory Five Racing of Wareham, MA), with the rest of the work being done by someone else – the owner.
So, if it’s not real, what is it? Well, contrary what you may have heard, cars from Factory Five Racing are not a Cobra body on a Mustang chassis – the Mustang has always been a unibody car that doesn’t have a separate frame. Nor are they a tab ‘a’ into slot ‘b’ sort of project. In the case of this car, take one Factory Five base kit, toss a bunch of the parts in the basement, use a few Mustang bits as Factory Five Racing intended, then add in a whole bunch of other cool reproduction and custom made things for a relatively period-correct replica of one of the most well known cars of all time.
• Chassis – fully welded steel with 4” round tube main rails (similar to the original ones by AC) with black powdercoat and aluminum monocoque panels (stressed) for interior, trunk, and engine compartment
• Body – hand-laid fiberglass, including doors, hood, and trunk lid
• Engine and Transmission – 347 ci Ford small block (apprx. 400 hp / 400 tq) and Tremec T5Z five-speed
• Suspension –
Front – adjustable upper control arms and tubular lower control arms with Koni coil-over shocks
Rear – adjustable three-link, tubular lower control arms, upper link, panhard rod, and Koni coil-over shocks
• Brakes – Ford four-wheel disc (Mustang GT front and SVT Cobra rear)
• Wheels and Tires – Halibrand replica 15” with Avon radials
• Paint – Ford 1965 Ivy Green / PPG code 43408 (Envirobase water-borne color) by KB Customs, Sugar Grove, IL
But, isn’t it really just a bunch of old, used Mustang junk? Well, Factory Five Racing designs their kits to use certain Mustang parts (either new or donor), which allows the builder access to thousands of outstanding, affordable, and well engineered OEM and aftermarket parts – all intended to work together. But, just how much a builder uses from a donor is up to them. In fact, Factory Five Racing offers a “complete kit” that uses no donor parts at all. This car includes the following parts from a 1994 SVT Cobra (#831), all of which were rebuilt and modified – the rest of #831 is now living a happy life as a racecar.
• Engine block, head castings, and SVT/Crane roller tipped rocker arms
• Brake and clutch pedal assembly (modified pedal pads and brake lever geometry)
• Fuel tank, lower cover, hangar straps, and fuel level sender
• 8.8 Trac-Lok rear end (modified with shorter axles, brake caliper brackets, and mounting points)
• Front spindles
• Tremec T5Z five-speed transmission and bellhousing
• Emergency brake handle and cables
This is what I have so far... yeah, I know the print will be smallish - I'm thinking it'll be roughly the size of one of those roadsign historic plaques. The formatting things, like centering, indentation, bold, underlining, and bullets didn't really come out well, but at least you can see the text.
No, really… it’s fake!
1965 AC Cobra Replica
From 1962 to 1967, Shelby American Inc. built just over 1,000 Cobras using rolling chassis/body assemblies supplied by AC Cars, Ltd. of England and V8 engines provided by Ford Motor Company. The car that AC provided was originally sold in the ‘50s as the AC Ace, which was powered by a straight-six engine made by Bristol. Instead of a six cylinder, Shelby installed V8s, starting with the 260, followed by the 289, then (between ’65 and ’67) the big block 427 and 428 (only about 300 big block cars were built). The Cobra, especially the early small block cars, went on to become a legend, winning many races and championships. These days, original Cobra values range from $500,000 to $1,500,000 or more, depending on the model and the car’s history. Check out a vintage race at places like Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI if you want to see one in its natural habitat – it’s amazing to see those cars still being run in anger! Like the originals, this car started as a chassis, body, suspension and other miscellaneous parts supplied by one manufacturer (Factory Five Racing of Wareham, MA), with the rest of the work being done by someone else – the owner.
So, if it’s not real, what is it? Well, contrary what you may have heard, cars from Factory Five Racing are not a Cobra body on a Mustang chassis – the Mustang has always been a unibody car that doesn’t have a separate frame. Nor are they a tab ‘a’ into slot ‘b’ sort of project. In the case of this car, take one Factory Five base kit, toss a bunch of the parts in the basement, use a few Mustang bits as Factory Five Racing intended, then add in a whole bunch of other cool reproduction and custom made things for a relatively period-correct replica of one of the most well known cars of all time.
• Chassis – fully welded steel with 4” round tube main rails (similar to the original ones by AC) with black powdercoat and aluminum monocoque panels (stressed) for interior, trunk, and engine compartment
• Body – hand-laid fiberglass, including doors, hood, and trunk lid
• Engine and Transmission – 347 ci Ford small block (apprx. 400 hp / 400 tq) and Tremec T5Z five-speed
• Suspension –
Front – adjustable upper control arms and tubular lower control arms with Koni coil-over shocks
Rear – adjustable three-link, tubular lower control arms, upper link, panhard rod, and Koni coil-over shocks
• Brakes – Ford four-wheel disc (Mustang GT front and SVT Cobra rear)
• Wheels and Tires – Halibrand replica 15” with Avon radials
• Paint – Ford 1965 Ivy Green / PPG code 43408 (Envirobase water-borne color) by KB Customs, Sugar Grove, IL
But, isn’t it really just a bunch of old, used Mustang junk? Well, Factory Five Racing designs their kits to use certain Mustang parts (either new or donor), which allows the builder access to thousands of outstanding, affordable, and well engineered OEM and aftermarket parts – all intended to work together. But, just how much a builder uses from a donor is up to them. In fact, Factory Five Racing offers a “complete kit” that uses no donor parts at all. This car includes the following parts from a 1994 SVT Cobra (#831), all of which were rebuilt and modified – the rest of #831 is now living a happy life as a racecar.
• Engine block, head castings, and SVT/Crane roller tipped rocker arms
• Brake and clutch pedal assembly (modified pedal pads and brake lever geometry)
• Fuel tank, lower cover, hangar straps, and fuel level sender
• 8.8 Trac-Lok rear end (modified with shorter axles, brake caliper brackets, and mounting points)
• Front spindles
• Tremec T5Z five-speed transmission and bellhousing
• Emergency brake handle and cables