Bit the bullet this weekend and ordered my kit!

[Yama-Bro]

Hey Guys!

After about 30 years of dreaming of owning a Cobra I finally pulled the trigger and placed my order online this weekend during the open house. I was planning on ordering it in September, but everything fell into place unexpectedly and I just "had" to do it.

My plan is to build this for an all around fun car. I'll be cruising around town (60%), hitting some scenic curvy roads (10%), going to a few car shows (10%), and doing a the occasional "for fun" track (10%) and autocross days (10%). I have two boys that are 6 and 12. I'm really looking forward to working on this with them (and they are excited too). Since I have a family and many things going on, I'm planning on taking my time on this, so the build could be drawn out a little more than some of yours. It definitely won't be done in 9 months. I'm going for a vaguely vintage looking car with 15" billboards and the vintage gages.

Here's what I ordered with the complete kit:
-Frame setup for 302/351 engine and 8.8 straight rear axle w/3 link suspension
-Powder coated frame
-Uncut body
-Power steering
-Vintage gauge set
-Stainless side exhaust
-302 ceramic coated headers
-Wind wings
-Sun visors
-Heater/defroster
-Wipers
-Driver and Passenger chrome roll bars(planning to make the passenger side removable)
-Roll bar grommets
-Center dash support
-15" Halibrand wheels
-Swapped the pre cut dash for a blank dash.

I'm also planning to get/do the following items to complete the build...
-Gordan Levy's 4 piston Wilwood brakes for FFR's 15" Halibrand wheels
-Mickey Thompson ST 15" tires (with Goodyear Eagle tire stickers or stencil)
-For the power plant, right now I'm looking at a BluePrint Engines 347 with EFI, but could go a lot of different directions.
-TKO600 tranny
-3.55 gearing in the rear end along with a 31 spline axles and Ford Track Lok diff..
-Glove box. I like the way the glove box looks in the dash, so I'm going to try to get it to work with the heater.
-Dropped trunk mod
-Battery relocated to the front or under the trunk.
-Competition dash layout.
-A second set of 17" wheels and tires for running on the track. (Hopefully, already have these)
-Would really like to do rectangular taillights.
-I'm planning to paint it Viking blue with white stripes and blacked out wheels, although my wife and kids are pushing for lime green and black stripes.


Once I get a little closer I'll start a build thread.

[hom-ade]

Very cool, have fun with the kids...theyll remember those times spent with you for the rest of their lives. Congrats, and good luck with your build!

[Jeff Kleiner]

Congrats!

You mention an occassional autocross or track day and even dedicated tires yet I don't see that you ordered a 3 link rear suspension. You really should.

Jeff

[Yama-Bro]

Isn't 3 link the standard option with the complete kit?

I double checked my order confirmation sheet...the deluxe 3-link is on there. =) I got really nervous there for a few minutes. I added it to the list. Thanks for checking my list close Jeff!

[GKindle]

Good luck with your build. I ordered my kit on June 7. Looking forward to getting started as I just retired and love projects like this. Your boys will remember this for the rest of their lives.

[KDubU]

Congrats! Like the description of your build, similar to mine. :D

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff310/Kyle241_2000/DSC00741_zpswrhczg48.jpg

I went with a 351w and carb though.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Isn't 3 link the standard option with the complete kit?



Yes, didn't see "complete" in your opening post.

Have a blast!

Jeff

[wareaglescott]

Congrats! Enjoy the build.

[GoDadGo]

Congratulations From The Big Easy!

[Yama-Bro]

Congrats! Like the description of your build, similar to mine. :D

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff310/Kyle241_2000/DSC00741_zpswrhczg48.jpg

I went with a 351w and carb though.

Yeah, I love your car. I hope this doesn't sound too creepy, but one of the pictures of your car is my laptop's background. haha

[Paul2STL]

Congratulations, don't feel nervous about leaving things off the order, I ordered mine on May 24 and still have called Courtine a few times to change items. Now try to remain calm until the kit get to the house. Your kids I bet are excited also.

[CraigS]

Welcome to a wonderfully changed world. Can I talk you into a 351? If you make the change now, your headers and intake will be ready to go as far as a 427. At least to a 408 w/ a stock block. The 351 internals are all stronger than a 302 so it is easy to build 400-425 hp using all the stock crank and rods and aftermarket, but stock style, hyper eutectic pistons w/ a little more compression.

[Yama-Bro]

Welcome to a wonderfully changed world. Can I talk you into a 351? If you make the change now, your headers and intake will be ready to go as far as a 427. At least to a 408 w/ a stock block. The 351 internals are all stronger than a 302 so it is easy to build 400-425 hp using all the stock crank and rods and aftermarket, but stock style, hyper eutectic pistons w/ a little more compression.

You may be able to talk me into it. I have considered the 408 extensively over the years. Two of the reasons I am leaning towards the 347 is because of the weight and because I will most likely be buying an engine from Blueprint Engines, where I am an employee, and I believe I can get the 347 cheaper with my employee discount. If I was to build the engine myself, I would probably lean towards the 351 based engine.

[KDubU]

Yeah, I love your car. I hope this doesn't sound too creepy, but one of the pictures of your car is my laptop's background. haha


Not creepy at all, I appreciate you like my build and it's flattering actually.

[Straversi]

Welcome aboard! Sounds like a great build plan. You will have a blast.
-Steve

[Papa]

You may be able to talk me into it. I have considered the 408 extensively over the years. Two of the reasons I am leaning towards the 347 is because of the weight and because I will most likely be buying an engine from Blueprint Engines, where I am an employee, and I believe I can get the 347 cheaper with my employee discount. If I was to build the engine myself, I would probably lean towards the 351 based engine.

I'll be ordering my Blueprint 347 EFI in a few months -- I live about six hours from Kearney, so I may drive out to pick it up rather than have it shipped. Congrats on the order! Mine is getting delivered on Saturday morning.

[Eespensen]

Congrats! Great plan

[Yama-Bro]

I'll be ordering my Blueprint 347 EFI in a few months -- I live about six hours from Kearney, so I may drive out to pick it up rather than have it shipped. Congrats on the order! Mine is getting delivered on Saturday morning.

Definitely. We'll hook you up with a factory tour when you come to pick it up. Just let Pete S. (sales) or myself know when you are gonna be here and we'll get something setup.

[initiator]

Congratulations on joining the fun! I remember the delay between ordering and delivery was excruciating. Then I was so excited on delivery day that I thought my head was going to pop off. I'd been dreaming for about 25 years, so I well know how you're feeling!

I stood in a parking lot in Kearney in maybe 1999 watching a tornado that we later learned passed over Hastings. It remains the most godawful example of nature's power that this north-westerner has ever seen.

[WIS89]

Congratulations on making the decision!

The wait from now until the kit is delivered is so hard. It was worse than waiting for Christmas when I was a kid!

I know you will enjoy building with your boys. That's what I have done, and it has been the best decision ever. The time we spend in the garage together is priceless! We have grown together in the garage working on the Roadster more than doing almost everything else. I hope you have a similar experience.

I have the Blueprint 408, and she is beautiful! I have not yet started it, but it won't be long. Like Craig, I think you will be very happy with the 351W; it will provide you with great flexibility for HP. Whether or not you run with the 408, the 351 provides a wide range of options for you going forward.

Best of luck moving forward, and welcome to an awesome club!

Regards,

Steve

[Yama-Bro]

I stood in a parking lot in Kearney in maybe 1999 watching a tornado that we later learned passed over Hastings. It remains the most godawful example of nature's power that this north-westerner has ever seen.

We had a tornado go right over our house about 9 years ago. It leveled an apartment at the end of our block and proceeded to do more damage on it's way out the other side of town. That's the closest I ever want to get to one of those.

[Papa]

The first year we were in our home, we took a direct hit by a small tornado.

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k99/dcabral99/Tornado/Picture1_zps6fgesusk.jpg (http://s86.photobucket.com/user/dcabral99/media/Tornado/Picture1_zps6fgesusk.jpg.html)

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k99/dcabral99/Tornado/7_zpsclcgdr2d.jpg (http://s86.photobucket.com/user/dcabral99/media/Tornado/7_zpsclcgdr2d.jpg.html)

The pictures were taken by a neighbor from about a mile away. My house is in the red circle in the first picture -- just after the tornado hit us. I had two cars in the driveway that suffered significant damage, but the house fared pretty well with only a few downspouts damaged and some window blasting from the sand.

[Yama-Bro]

Too close for comfort!

[squareback]

So I take it you're near Kearney? We go to Lincoln frequently for autocrosses, so it would be great to see you there!

Mike

[Yama-Bro]

So I take it you're near Kearney? We go to Lincoln frequently for autocrosses, so it would be great to see you there!

Mike

Yep, in Kearney. Nice! How often are there autocross races in Lincoln?

[mcwho]

Welcome to the fun and enjoy the build. Your build looks good. I am teetering on getting mine painted. I have body on, working out the body work, and just had the alignments done.

Early on I decided on Power steering, power barkes and hydraulic clutch. and a 302 based engine.

[CraigS]

Re tires. take a look at the MT Sportsman SR tires
http://www.mickeythompsontires.com/street/sportsman-sr
26x10 front and 26x12 rear. They used to get very good reviews here but I haven't seen anyone use them in the last couple of years. I have a pair of the StreetComp tires on the back and am a a bit underwhelmed. They are only slightly better than Sumi's so I am concerned that the ST's may not be much traction wise..

[Yama-Bro]

Re tires. take a look at the MT Sportsman SR tires
http://www.mickeythompsontires.com/street/sportsman-sr
26x10 front and 26x12 rear. They used to get very good reviews here but I haven't seen anyone use them in the last couple of years. I have a pair of the StreetComp tires on the back and am a a bit underwhelmed. They are only slightly better than Sumi's so I am concerned that the ST's may not be much traction wise..

I'll give the SR's a look when I get close to ordering the tires. I was planning on using the 15" Mickey Thompsons for street use only. I have another set of 17" wheels and tires for the track. I know that KdubU used the ST's and is pretty happy with them. Thanks for the heads up!