Jim B in San Antonio 347 Mark IV Build Thread--Miscellaneous Rambling

[Rebostar]

Jim, I had similar issues. The first one looks like you can fix by kicking out the lower door hinge where it attaches to the chassis. This will put the bottom of the door further outboard. Its a bit of a ballancing act between the upper and lower hinge attach points. I just snugged them up but kept them loose enough that I could loosen one at a time to make individual adjustments. I spent about an hour adjusting the two door to hinge nuts and the two hinge to chassis bolts. Its a bit like ballancing on a bowling ball because every adjustment effects the other three. Then throw in the two bottom bolts. Have patience it will come around. The body hieght is set by the firewall seal. At least mine is. Cant speak for others. So its not adjustable in the vertical plane. If you want the 1/2" gap between the hoop and body the manual just says to bend it down. My gap is 1/4" on the RH side and 1/2" on the LH. I'll live with it.
I had to add quite a bit of filler to the RH door "horn" or "point" area. (see Pic below). I had to do the same with the LH door. I also extended them to clean up the seam look.

204765204766204767204768

[Jeff Kleiner]

I'm concurring with Rebostar. The top of PS door is always low to the cowl ...if you raise it to flush at the cowl the curve along the front edge where it rolls over will be way high and not match the body. As he said, it's all a balancing act. I'd advise you to be sure that the lower rocker panel is pushed all the way in and get rid of the washers between the door and hinge (I've never had to do that on the PS; DS is a different story and always gets one at the lower front stud) then work on the hinge adjustments. When you bring the lower end of the hinge outward it'll not only bring the lower edge of the door out but also take the upper part of the door in, and vice-versa. Try taking the upper end of the hinge in and see if that helps kick the bottom out. In the end you get as close as you can and then start in on the bodywork on the door and main body to get the final shaping and panel match. Top "point" (horn ;)), front and bottom.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=204777&d=1727908458

Good luck!

Jeff

204777

[buttsjim]

Thanks, Allyn and Jeff!
Your comments about the fit at the top of the door are reassuring. As for the bottom, I will take out the two washers between the hinge and the door, mark the hinge locations on the chassis, and fiddle with the bottom hinge location a bit more. Now that I have everything fairly close, and the door swinging without interference, I think I'll have better success with the final adjustment. I'm about 99.9% sure that the rocker is tight against the chassis, but I'll loosen the bolts, and give it a mild whack with a rubber mallet to see if it goes in any farther. (I slotted the sills, and am using 5mm round head machine screws in rivet nuts to hold them in place, so they're adjustable). Thanks again to you both!
Jim B

[buttsjim]

Congrats on your retirement, Jim! Wahoo! (I don't want to think about how many more years until I can. Oof!).



I think I'd be happy to work a few more years if I could build a coupe as my 2nd Cobra project like some people I know! I guess the grass is always greener!

[buttsjim]

Gee. It’s been months since I’ve been on this forum, either for posting my own progress, or for following anyone else’s. Well, I haven’t died, except from shame—I’ve gotten so much help, advice, and encouragement from the forum, that it’s incredibly selfish not to reciprocate. It’s not like my posts are all that helpful, but I at least could have described my progress, as I know some of you are interested. I need to catch up!

The Cobra has been on the road since January 5, and now has a little over 1400 miles. It still needs a lot of work, but it’s legal and driveable. Really driveable. So, I guess the best way to continue my thread is to describe the present, and then go back to any significant events between my last post and now.

I can’t relate all my thoughts about this car in one post, but it’s easy to summarize--the car is fantastic. On a scale of 10, it's a 10-plus. On the same scale, compared to my expectations, the car is a 20. It is so sweet, and such an incredible joy to drive, that I just can’t get enough of it.

I have the small block Blueprint 347, and I’m extremely happy with that choice of engine. It’s smooth, has plenty of power, and sounds gorgeous. With the Gas-N touring pipes, the exhaust is loud, but the note is beautiful. Add to that, the pushrod mechanical sounds coming in from the engine compartment at low speeds, and it’s all just delicious. I’m as happy loafing along at 30 MPH as I am at speed. Years back, I was planning on using the Coyote, but changed my mind to the pushrod—partly to look more period correct, and partly for simplicity’s sake. I’m happy that I did. What a terrific engine, and what sounds! Nothing against the Coyote—I’m just a child of the 60’s, and love the lumpy idle and all the accompanying noises of the pushrod engine.

There is so much to say—way too much for one post. I’ll add further thoughts and some of my build issues in later posts.

[Nigel Allen]

I love these kind of posts. It shows reward for your skills and dedication. I can almost picture the smile on your face when you are driving. It's a great accomplishment.
Don't forget to post some pics/ video.

Cheers,

Nige

[buttsjim]

I now have almost 1600 miles on the Cobra, driving in a wide range of weather. I drove a little over 20 miles on a 28 degree morning to get the car weighed (2340 pounds). Later, I had to drive it 25 miles, each way, mostly on the interstate, in a cold drizzling rain to meet an appointment for my safety inspection—it wasn’t my favorite driving experience. I wasn’t expecting much wet road performance from the Nitto tires—even then, I think I over-estimated them. But, at least the car passed its inspection!

In early February, I drove 50 miles (each way) into the beautiful Texas Hill Country to a friend’s ranch for a day of shooting, barbeque and beer (strictly in that order). The Cobra performed beautifully--much better than my Colt 1908, which couldn't fire a complete 7-round magazine without jamming. Embarrassing—but, what a beautiful drive over winding, tree-lined roads with no traffic! The temps were 42 degrees in the morning when I left home, and 76 when I returned that afternoon. Without doubt, I preferred the 42 degrees to the hot afternoon temp, which was what I anticipated when ordering the kit.

Until March 12, I’d been driving the car on temporary tags while waiting for the anti-theft inspection to get the car properly titled and registered. All is now complete, and I’m legal. And, broke. The 6.25% sales tax on the kit and motor combination were bad enough, but I got seriously raped by the tax assessor who penalized me for not transferring the title immediately upon receiving the kit. Instead of using the date of the car’s completion, they used the date on the Certificate of Origin (September 2022) to determine when the car should have been registered—this resulted in a $570 penalty for late registration and late tax payment. We argued back and forth for over an hour, but I lost. I think the assessors agreed with me, but several calls to their bosses and, finally, Austin, all went against me. I’m guessing that I’m the only builder in Texas who has encountered this, but Texas builders beware! I haven’t given up yet and will write to whoever’s the boss in Austin to plead my case. I maintain that if I’d taken my chassis, body, and 52 boxes of parts to the assessor’s office to register it as a car way back then, they’d have just laughed at me. We'll see what happens.

I guess I lost the popularity contest at my friend’s ranch:

Car:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=211463&d=1742075863

Barbeque:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=211464&d=1742075863

Well, Texas brisket is hard to beat!

[Mike.Bray]

You need to protest all of that BS as it's wrong. I paid $104 complete to register my car. There's no tax due, in Texas tax is only collected on the sale of a motor vehicle which in your case there is no sale, it's a first time registration. What you had was a collection of parts that until you assembled them were most definitely not a motor vehicle.

Any parts you did not pay sales tax on are in theory subject to use tax but that's not the role of the DMV. They only collect tax on the sale/transfer of a motor vehicle which in your case this is not. I documented all of this in my build thread.

You are due a refund.

[buttsjim]

You need to protest all of that BS as it's wrong. I paid $104 complete to register my car. There's no tax due, in Texas tax is only collected on the sale of a motor vehicle which in your case there is no sale, it's a first time registration. What you had was a collection of parts that until you assembled them were most definitely not a motor vehicle.

Any parts you did not pay sales tax on are in theory subject to use tax but that's not the role of the DMV. They only collect tax on the sale/transfer of a motor vehicle which in your case this is not. I documented all of this in my build thread.

You are due a refund.

Thanks, Mike. I think you were wise to hire a lawyer when you registered yours!

[460.465USMC]

Sorry to hear about the Texas tax-man jabbing you at the end of your registration. Like salt on a wound. That stinks.

Great to read you are getting some nice drives in so far. Keep racking up those miles. Looking good!

[buttsjim]

Sorry to hear about the Texas tax-man jabbing you at the end of your registration. Like salt on a wound. That stinks.

Great to read you are getting some nice drives in so far. Keep racking up those miles. Looking good!

Thanks, Chris!
I plan to drive the Cobra as much as possible until the weather gets hot. Then I'll start the body/paint work, which I'll have to do myself. I'm making a laundry list of all that I want to change/correct when the body comes back off.

I haven't spent much time on the site these last months, so have lost track of your Coupe build. I'm looking forward to catching up!
Hope all is well!
Jim B