Trip to LCS 2017 and back

[Bob-STL]

As some of you are familiar, I am a little slow posting, but here it goes.
We(Lynn and I) went to the London cobra show in the coupe. As Cobrakai reminds me all the time "no pics,.....". So here is a pic of London exit.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=70756&d=1500411558

We got 4 blocks from the hotel in Columbus OH and the coupe died on the exit ramp. It would turn over, but not start. I tried several things, but nothing worked. Then I had Lynn get out to push me off to the side of the road ... Fortunately, some lady in a business suit stopped and the two got me onto the shoulder. Next, I texted Mark D, for his suggestions. Nothing worked there. He texted back after awhile, "don't go anywhere, we're sending the calvary". Phone rings and it's Henry Renaud. Then a truck and trailer with four people(Henry, Frank W, Karen S. and Dean ) show up and push me onto a trailer (Lynn got an education on not pushing on Millers perfectly molded tail fin!). Mark and Brendan showed up on the ramp and we had a party. To Henry, Frank, Karen, and Dean: "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you......" (This folks, was very humbling...)

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=70749&d=1500411226

The concensus was that fuel was not flowing, so Brendan and I started chasing down the problem. I'm the good looking one on the left!

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=70757&d=1500411558



Lynn thought this picture was hysterical because Brendan and I had met earlier on the build phase!

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=70759&d=1500411558

Then, the 30 hour tropical storm came and it started raining. So Henry and Dean brought over the NAPA tent. While Brendan and I continued with the car, the Thursday happy hour moved over to the tent. Miller joined in and gave us his sage advice.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=70767&d=1500411558

The culprit was the fuel pump not working. More specifically, the rubber feed line of the in the tank pump was split. Furthermore, it was not a gas impermeable hose. (China origin). This kind of thing, kind of really hacks me (enough said). Here is the hose.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=70771&d=1500411558

We finished the car off the next morning in the rain. I will post the rest shortly. Again, thanks to Henry, Dean, Frank, Karen and a host of others. Thank you David Hodgkins for showing me how to post this. More later.

Bob

[65 Cobra Dude]

Pleasure to meet you Bob and Lynn and glad to help. It's what we do!

Henry

[Bob-STL]

Everything got tucked in for the rainy night. For those that have never gone, there are three hotels together, with all their parking lots like this.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=70764&d=1500411558

The Ohio Cobra Club does an outstanding job in organizing this. There is even continuous security at the hotels.

Saturday morning most of the cars lined up at the Speedway Truck Stop prior to the parade into London. This was a real highlight for me. You have a hundred cobras, it is real laid back, coffee while you wait, you can see any car and talk to anyone.... A great time! Here is what that looks like (Fortunately, Lynn in khaki shorts in the foreground didn't see me balancing on a railing to get this picture.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=70772&d=1500411558

When the Highway Patrol says "Okay, get ready to go...", a hundred cobras fire up. Now that is pretty cool!

Main Street is pretty busy.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=70802&d=1500433996

This was my favorite plate, and the lady was a hoot!

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=70761&d=1500411558

A close second on the favorite plate was:

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=70804&d=1500434115

The trip back to St Louis was uneventful except for gas stops. It usually takes 15-20 minutes to get out of the gas station. One time I walked out of the station and Lynn had two little kids sitting in the car. Their mother then had to take pictures of Mr and Mrs car owner with the two kids.

At a Subway in Illinois, the guy in this van drove down the street, came back, parked, and surveyed the car.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=70773&d=1500411558

Trip total: 987 miles, 20.4 mpg ave.

Again, thank you to everyone who helped me out.

Bob

[Jeff Kleiner]

It was great to finally meet and get to spend a bit of time with you Bob! :)

Jeff

PS-sorry I was late to respond to your call when you were stranded at the exit :(

[edwardb]

Nice write-up about the London show and your pump repair. I watched the Dougherty boys do their magic while under that cover in the pouring rain. (In the picture, but I'm not admitting it...). That's the second failure I've seen of that piece of tubing, in my limited experience. Something to check for sure. Nice to meet you and loved the Coupe.

[Timb]

Interestingly enough I had the same fuel hose issue when I first put my coupe on the road. Did you drop the tank? I ended up cutting an access hatch in the rear floor.

[edwardb]

Interestingly enough I had the same fuel hose issue when I first put my coupe on the road. Did you drop the tank? I ended up cutting an access hatch in the rear floor.

The patient underwent some surgery and received an access hatch. :o Not a particularly good spot to be dropping the tank, especially heavy with fuel in it.

[John Dol]

Great story Bob, and thanks for posting all the pics. Looks like although you had some issues the community, once again, pulled together and made a happy trip out of it.

John

[Jacob McCrea]

Good stuff; thanks for posting. I'm deficient for not driving over there from western PA and checking it out!

[Bob-STL]

The patient underwent some surgery and received an access hatch. :o Not a particularly good spot to be dropping the tank, especially heavy with fuel in it.

Yes, we "did some surgery" in the parking lot. We raided the Salvaggio mobile workshop (thank you) and came up with a cordless drill and five inch hole saw bit (another lesson in being prepared). Funny thing, I could have sworn I marked and cut an access panel during the build, but I sure couldn't find it (definitely, this is something mandatory that should be done on the build). Anyway, here is what we did.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=70891&d=1500659384

Bob

[Mark Dougherty]

Hey
Glad you got home safe that was a great weekend.
I told you during the build.

When you purchase a Factory Five You have instantly joined a very large family.
and they love to help out.
even if helping is drinking your beer and pointing to what you have to do.
;)

[WIS89]

Bob
I absolutely love this story, although I am sorry for your troubles!

This community is full of truly wonderful people! Thank you for sharing your story and reminding us how fortunate we are to be part of this very cool "club."

Regards,

Steve

[Garry Bopp]

Bob,

Sorry I didn't get to meet you at LCS ... Next year we will have to connect. I've got a lot of history with Mark and Brendan, both with my Gen 1 coupe and my challenge car. Great people with loads of talent and experience ... And always willing to step in and help out.

Garry

[Mark Dougherty]

oh yeah Gary
and we will be helping on that gen 3 of yours also

[Bob Cowan]

Way cool, Bob! Love to see your adventures! :)