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License Tag Lights/Bracket
Spent a little time in the garage today and installed the License Tag Bracket/Light assembly. I first completed the modification as described HERE in Jeff Kleiner's thread from a few years ago. I still need to put the bracket extension on to actually raise the plate up into the light fixture. I don't have any metal stock laying around that I like for this so will have to pick some up. I will also most likely have to open the slot cut in the clear plastic a little bit more to allow for the tag to fit.
I'm still waiting, patiently, for SC DMV to send me my title. They told me six weeks and by gosh they are going to use all of the six weeks.
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100% Street Legal - Let the fun begin....
So yesterday, after being very patient with SC DMV and waiting the full 6 weeks + 5 days, I called them to check on the status of my title application. They had told me previously that it will take between 4-6 weeks and not to call until after the full 6 weeks. Funny thing happened; about 1 hour after my call, I get a call from the Title Department asking two simple questions. Questions answered, title issued. I then was able to go to the county tax office to pay my $16 county property tax, took that receipt to the DMV and just like that, plated and legal to drive... I just got back from about a 20 mile, stress free (IE not looking over my shoulder for the police) drive. Grinning the whole time. Even had a Mustang GT and a Camaro SS "rev" their engines at me... Just looked at them and grinned...
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First Long Drive - 600 Mile Check Up
Took a long ride down to Savannah to attend a Cars and Coffee and to visit with Dave (DadofThree) to discuss this years Hot Rod Power Tour. I put a total of 330 miles on the car putting my total mileage at over 600 now. During this drive my son rode along with me to see what he thought about riding for that long, to simulate the Power Tour we are planning to do in June. We started out in the chilly 45*/foggy morning, then hit some minor rain, had some hot muggy sun and then a pretty hard down poor.... Drove through it all with no major problems or unexpected results. The care drove and ran very good. Although I was expecting a bit better fuel mileage, not that this is a car to expect that....
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A shot of Dave's (DadofThree) Mk3.1 roadster "Pete" cruising along at about 70 MPH.
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And now, I have mine up on jack stands and will do a complete inspection of all of the suspension and other critical components. Change the Oil, Drain and Refill the Coolant, etc over the next few weeks. I also have a few other minor tweaks that I will make along the way.
I have to say, that I have really enjoyed the first 600 miles. I've found the BluePrint Engine's 347 Carburetor motor to provide awesome, responsive power. It really seems to like to run at or above 1800 rpm. I believe that I have a little carburetor adjustments to make to get it right on. While I have never ridden in another cobra to compare the ride, I find that the ride is as expected. Firm, but not teeth jarring. And when turning, it feels like it is on wheels and is very responsive to steering wheel input. I'm enjoying it so much that this morning before the thunder storm hit, I took it for a quick ride to downtown Charleston about 20 miles one way, but the return trip, well it was about 50 miles... Just sayin'
Ready for some TLC and checks....
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No Snap Tonneau Cover Receive/Installed
A couple weeks ago I ordered a no snap tonneau cover and received it today. After following the instructions emailed to me for measuring my car, the fit is perfect. This cover takes me all of abut 60 seconds to install and really seems to be for great quality and workmanship. Phillip & Kay Deal were super easy to work with they can be contacted at wpdeal@gmail.com and they will provide you with any information you need. The cover has a very soft backing on it to protect paint and uses a bungee cord that will clip to the end of the exhaust pipe to hold it down. Even with my cubby hole in the trunk, it will fit in the trunk without any problem. And if I have a lot of stuff in the trunk, it will lay across the top of the seats, under the shoulder belts with no problem as well.
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1000+ FUN Miles Driven - Some insight for the new folks.
So on 3/23/19 during a 200 mile drive to visit Patrick's Build (MechanicalKnowledgeNone) in Columbia I surpassed the 1000 mile mark on my Gel-Coat driver. I will say that ALL 1000 miles have been fun and exciting. I just started really driving it one month ago when I received my license tags. So for this post I thought I would share a few photos and also some knowledge learned along the way.
1st I'll start with some good knowledge that most new builders should keep in mind.
- Somewhere in the manual I read that after you drive your run/drive your car you should re-tighten the hose clamps. Radiator, Water pump, heater hoses, oil lines, etc. Well I've found that these should be checked more than just after one run. I've actually found they will need to be checked after each run until they don't get any tighter. Each time I came back in, usually the next day, I was able to easily tighten them a little bit more. And I'm not talking about wrenching them, I just use a nut driver/screw driver and get a little more. SO, why do I stress this first? The other day, after about 800 miles of driving, I was doing some tuning, specifically I was checking and tweaking the timing. I'm standing there watching and enjoying the sound of my idling engine when the upper radiator hose just popped right off of the thermostat housing neck. It did not throw water or steam everywhere, just popped off and dumped a bit of water on the water pump area. I was able to quickly turn off the engine.. Sure glad it did this while sitting in my yard and not 100 miles from home.
- Oil seepage, I've had a little here and there. Mostly from around the Oil Filter Relocate tubing and adapter on the block. ( I know Paul ) I have to say that at 650 miles when I changed my oil, it was very nice having the filter vertical while removing it and no oil dripping while removing it. I'm contemplating whether I'm going to keep it or try to fix the seepage. I will say that I did find the hose clamps here also need to be snugged up a little after being run awhile. So far this is the only Oil Seepage I've encountered.
I'm running the BluePrint 347ci Carburetor Engine with the TKO and 3:31 gears. I find that the sweet spot for the engine is at about 1800 rpm. What I mean is that it really smooths out. At 60 MPH in 5th I'm at 2200 +/-. Between 40-50 I usually will stay in 4th running right at 1800-2000 rpm. And on my trip yesterday to Columbia, I cruised at 60 for 90% of the trip and all of my stops were usually followed by a very exhilarating run through the gears up to 70ish before hitting the resume button on the cruise. I say this to preference that with all this, I averaged just shy of 18mpg, not that anyone really cares...
During the 650 mile oil change, I removed all of the brake in oil and refilled it with 7 qts of the BluePrint Engines recommended Rotella T4 15w40 oil. Also of course a new oil filter that was provided by the good folks at BluePrint Engines. With my engine, oil pressures are usually right at 55-60 during cruise and about 65 during acceleration. Idle pressure is about 40-45.
As far a performance; Using the options on my GPS Speedometer, I have done a couple of easy 1/4 mile and 0-60 runs. (I say easy because I have the rev limiter set at 5000 rpm and I do my best not to spin the tires) I've only done one 1/4 mile run and it gave me a 12.84 sec @ 110 MPH and my 0-60 was just over 4 seconds. It is crazy, it will hit the rev limiter so quickly. And during the 1/4 mile run, I actually ran it past the 1/4 mile distance and up to 115 as is registered on my Speedo's memory function. The car was smooth and just wanted to go more, but that was a one time run without more proper safety preparations. Oh, about spinning the tires. It can and will do that very easily, but I've been very good on the throttle control as at $420 each, I want to get all the use I can out of my rear tires.
As far as handling, and I preference this with the fact that I've not yet taken it to get the laser alignment or corner weights/ride heights professionally set, It drives like it is on rails and connected to the asphalt. It will change lanes when asked, instantly. And the Wilwood brakes are smooth and it stops on a dime... I just have to carry more dimes with me. I think that once I get a chance to put a pressure gauge on my brake lines and actually set the front/rear bias, It will be that much better.
The Ride is exactly what I expected, firm, but very smooth. Sure, I feel the bumps more than in my daily driver, but my daily driver feels like a boat compared to this. I do not feel any lean in the turns as I suspect the front/rear sway bars are helping with that along with the awesome Koni coil overs...
Ok, this has been a long post, but I've got a lot to say... it's just been amazing to drive. Oh, the heater and heated seats have allowed me to comfortably take it out in 40* weather and with the exception of the air on the back of my neck, I've been very comfortable.
Some Photos.
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1st Oil Filter Inspection 680 miles/brake in oil removal
The other day I changed the oil for the first time. I was right at 680 miles and had the BluePrint Engine's Brake In oil in the engine. Today, I was able to get to the filter and cut it open to inspect it for anything that could be a concern. The Oil Plug is magnetic and it had some black magnetic sludge on it, but nothing of any concern. I was very happy with my findings... next to nothing. Here are some photos of cutting open the filter. I did find a couple very small metal particles that were magnetic and I'm assuming from the machining of the block prior to assembly. I did not see with the naked eye anything of concern, nor did I suspect that I would. The engine is running fantastic and is crazy strong.
To cut open the filter, you could purchase an oil filter cutter or as I have done on many filters from a drag car I used to work on, I use a hack saw around the top edge of the filter. It doesn't take much, clamp the filter in a vice and a few strokes of the saw all the way around. Then, a pair of vice grips on the filter lip and it will open up like a can of baked beans... anyway, you get the idea. Then using a razor knife/box cutter, just cut the filter media all the way around the top and bottom next to the filter frame work. Unfold the filter media and lay it out on the bench, stretch it out and inspect. You want to inspect the side that is toward the outside of the filter, not inside... Of course you can look on the inside as well, but that is the side the filtered oil comes out of so there will not be much, if anything, there...
Here are some photos.
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A "Small" Cars & Coffee this Past Weekend
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Rainy Day Work... Cup Holders
I've been waiting for a good rainy day to complete a project on the interior, Cup Holders. I've had these for a while now and today was the perfect day to get the task completed. Took all of about 1 hour to complete.
I started the project by getting the car up high on the jack stands and getting under it to mark the cross bar. It was a tight fit, but I was able to get the sharpie to mark a small portion of the 3/4 tube. I was then able to extend that with a straight edge. These cup holders are just over 3.5" outside diameter. So using a 3 1/2" hole saw and a little massaging with the Drimal tool I have a good snug, friction fit. * If I have a problem with them blowing out while driving, I'm planning to get a couple larger hose clamps and put them on the underside of them. My trans tunnel cover only takes 4 screws to remove and removal of the shifter so it is very easy.
This is a LINK to the cup holders that I chose to go with.
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A couple more photos from yesterday's cars and coffee... Can't wait to get paint on this thing... FYI, I plan to get the knock offs on this next weekend. I'm just waiting to get the alignment laser checked. I don't want the shop to fool around with them if they need to remove the wheels for any reason.
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* So I found that at about 60mph, the cup holders would start to rise up out of the tunnel cover. Remember, they actually had a pretty good friction fit. During another exciting run up to close to 100mph, I had one of them fly up in the air and land between the seats. I will also confirm that there is a huge amount of air that will come up out of that hole. If your thinking of putting a vent in your trans tunnel, you will get a lot of air and it did not seem to be heated by the engine. It was the same temp as putting my hand up over my windshield. My fix to the problem was very easy 3 1/2" hose clamp.
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A Short Video of My Factory Five Roadster
I've been driving my Cobra now for about 2 1/2 months. I've put 1600 miles on it in that time. It is an absolute blast to drive. I've had several videos of me driving it from my point of view but I've never had a chance to watch myself driving it. Today, Easter Sunday 2019, I had the chance to take a drive with my son Matt and he was kind enough to shot some video as I did a few drive-byes. This thing really is cool and a blast to drive. Enjoy this quick video from today's fun.
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https://youtu.be/ZXy1ctSpKF8
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Getting Ready for the Hot Rod Power Tour 2019 - BluePrint Engines
As some of you may know, I'm taking the roadster on a 2200 mile journey in June. I'm participating in the 2019 Hot Rod Power Tour, 7 days and nights of cruising fun... I'm also taking along BluePrint Engines. I've partnered with them while I'm still in GelCoat to promote their awesome company and save some people some money. So, in the fun of the Power Tour event, I've put a few decals on the car and thought I would share some photos with you all. If you are looking for an engine for your Factory Five, take a long serious look at BluePrint.
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