Lowering Cober rear body

[IEMRacing]

Good day all,
I was originally on this form many years ago when I ran my cobra in the challenge series. But the racing days have come and gone and now I am planning to put the Cobra on the street. One of the first things I would like to do is lower the rear body so it looks more like an original Cobra! if anybody out there has done this or has any advice on where to cut the fiberglass and we’re not to cut the fiberglass it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, John

[edwardb]

Commonly referred to as the "dropped butt mod." Lots of forum bandwidth on this. Probably especially the other one since it's an older mod for pre-Mk4's. This thread will get you started and has some links as well: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?6034-Dropped-Butt-mod-advice.

[CraigS]

No body cutting needed at all. It flexes a little right at the door latch area. remove the aluminum panels from the rear sides of the trunk area. Remove the rear mount bolts and let it drop. It will usually hit the upper rear corner of the 3/4x3/4 tubes on the sides of the trunk. A 'full drop' uses the upper mount holes in the body w/ the bolts going into the lower holes in the frame. Then drill new upper holes in the body. That usually will require cutting those tubes a bit. You can do a partial drop w/o cutting the tubes but it doesn't look quite as good to my eyes. This gives some idea of the end result. The top originally had a 1/4 in gap to the body all the way. Now it has a 3/4 or so gap at the back.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50498761372_bd45ba5b9c_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jWpmpw)IMG_20150315_152218152 (https://flic.kr/p/2jWpmpw) by craig stuard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152454123@N04/), on Flickr
This shows the overall profile. The pointy trunk even looks much better when it is 2.5 inches lower.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49005714031_fb61a0a739_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2hEt6rZ)IMG_20140821_080001_434 (https://flic.kr/p/2hEt6rZ) by craig stuard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152454123@N04/), on Flickr

[IEMRacing]

Commonly referred to as the "dropped butt mod." Lots of forum bandwidth on this. Probably especially the other one since it's an older mod for pre-Mk4's. This thread will get you started and has some links as well: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?6034-Dropped-Butt-mod-advice.

Cool, Thanks

I'll post pictures when I start........

[IEMRacing]

Great advice on all the treads I have read about the "drop but mod":cool:.
Doesn’t seem as bad as I thought it would be, no fiberglass work!
Now onto my next hurdle, the doors on a challenge car are screwed shut.
No hinges ever came with the kit or door latches.
I’m going to remove some of the cage so I can crawl in through the opening and I would like to make my doors open. Any advice on this one?

[CraigS]

I can't really help but can provide a little backround info. I am concerned that the SC doors don't have the steel inside.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49748701673_d2de89343e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2iN86MK)Internal door frame (https://flic.kr/p/2iN86MK) by craig stuard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152454123@N04/), on Flickr
Near the front you should have 2 sets of 4 studs protruding from the inside surface of the door for hinges to bolt to. At the rear you will probably need to cut into the inner layer of fiberglass to expose the steel that the latch bolts to. If you don't have this it could be a lot of work. I am not sure if a MkIV door fits the older bodies.