Jim's Gumball2 Build Thread

[Jim Doak]

Over the past few weeks I've been working on fitting the radiator aluminum as well as installing (temporarily) the oil cooler. I've also connected the windshield wiper hardware onto the motor, including the two gearboxes and stainless tubing. And earlier today I finished fabricating and installing an aluminum panel to cover the hole on the underside of the trunk lid.

Here's some pics of the trunk lid cover.

[Jim Doak]

Here's a few photos of the fitted radiator aluminum as well as the oil cooler.

[Jim Doak]

I've finished fitting the windshield wipers, less the wiper arms. I tested the system and the wiper gearboxes seem to be working correctly.

Next, it'll be fitting the hood and after that I'll be about ready to take it for bodywork and paint. However, I am seriously considering fitting the four splash guards before I make that trip.

[Jim Doak]

The last couple of weeks have been dedicated to fitting the hood. Would have finished sooner but I was in California for 10 days over Christmas. (Wife's family.)

Anyway, over the last few days I was able to finish installing the hood. On my first attempt, I followed the manual's hood hinge installation instructions, including use of the wave washers. Well, that was a mistake. WAY too much slop provided by the wave washers, preventing the hood from consistently closing in the same location. So, I searched the forum and found a post from Jeff Kleiner where he said to pitch the wave washers and use a combination of thick and thin flat washers. That's the ticket, now the hood closes properly. And today I finished the installation of the hood latches by installing the latch brackets. (I didn't follow the manual's instructions for these either; instead, I installed the brackets using some #10 button heads.)

[Jim Doak]

Since I was so close to having the hood installation completed, on Tuesday, December 30th I decided to begin the registration process. So, I contacted the Heber City police department for a VIN inspection who directed me to the Wasatch County sheriff's office. (The town we live in (Midway) is very small with no police force, so I needed to go through the county.) Anyway, an officer came by the house within 30 minutes or so and performed the VIN inspection. Basically, comparing the VIN Factory Five etched onto the frame against the VIN I entered on Utah's VIN inspection form. The VIN inspection took all of 5 minutes.

So, yesterday morning I headed to the county DMV office to complete the registration process, with all the necessary paperwork including the officer-signed VIN inspection form. The two ladies at the DMV were unfamiliar with the process for registering a replica vehicle; however, they got some guidance from State staff and were able to complete the registration in about 40 minutes. So, now I'm legal.

When I returned home from the DMV I began the search for an insurance policy. I ended up calling Grundy. The lady I spoke with emailed me an application, which I completed and sent back to her, along with several pictures of the car. I should hear back from Grundy within a day or so.

For anyone in Utah who needs to register their Cobra, Eddie C went through this process recently and has a post where he identifies and includes links to the necessary forms. Very, very helpful.

The only bummer in the whole process was that I wasn't able to use my old GUMBALL license plates from my first build. Somebody poached my plates while they were inactive. (I sold the car in September 2019.)

[Jim Doak]

After I finished the hood latch installation earlier today, I decided it'd be a good time to disassemble my body buck and free-up some garage space. After that was done, I decided to take a few pictures showing the current state of the nearly completed build. The only things I want to do before I take it to the painter is to fit the four splash guards.

Since I don't have side pipes, I've decided to skip a hood scoop, too.

[AC Bill]

Congrats, sounds like things are progressing magnificently for you.

Does the state not require a vehicle safety inspection in addition to the VIN inspection?

[Jim Doak]

No safety inspections in Utah. The state did away with them several years ago. (Not necessarily a good thing.)

[Mike.Bray]

Congratulations on registration! I know that is such a great feeling.

If Grundy doesn't work out for you call Robyn at Midwest Classic Insurance (sponsor on this site). He knows our cars well and will take very good care of you. I've got three cars insured through him now and the rates are insane in a good way.

[Jim Doak]

I've finished fitting the four splash guards; now the only parts I have yet to pre-fit or install from the kit are the two under door aluminum pieces.

Here's few pics showing the fitment of the splash guards. Not too difficult, though I did need to cut a window in the front driver's side splash guard to provide clearance for the master cylinder. While I was at it, I fabbed a couple of close-out panels to fill the gaps between the rear wheel wells and the cockpit. Final installation will occur after the car gets painted.

Speaking of paint, I'm scheduled to take it in for bodywork and paint in early/mid-February.

[Jim Doak]

Here's a few gelcoat pics before it goes in for bodywork and paint, which happens in about 3 weeks. Tomorrow it goes in for a 4-wheel alignment. After that's completed, I'll begin pulling parts like the roll bar, splash shields, headlights, taillights, turn signals and gas cap before it heads to the painter.

[Jim Doak]

I had an appointment at the semi-local Les Schwab shop to get a four-wheel alignment on January 20th. I drive over for my appointment and they proceed to tell me that they can't align my car since it's not in their system. (It'd been nice if they'd told me that a week earlier when I made my appointment and specified that I had a Cobra kit car.) I call the nearby Big O shop and they're willing to give it a try; however, my car is too low to fit on their alignment rack. Oh well....

Anyway, I've been working on final details before it goes in for bodywork and paint on February 16th.

Like a bunch of other forum builders, I fabricated a mount for a honeycomb radiator protector. It's easily removeable for periodic cleaning. Some satin black paint and it's barely noticeable.

[Jim Doak]

Since I have Mustang-based power brakes, my master cylinder protrudes into the front splash guard which necessitated cutting a window for clearance. So, I remembered a post from Jeff Kleiner many years ago suggesting the use of a dog dish as a cover. After a visit to Petco, I've now incorporated a feline feeding dish into my build.

[Jim Doak]

Since I'm going for a vintage Cobra look, I'm using Raydot side mirrors which required the fabrication of some custom mounts made from 1/8" aluminum. For this build I've also decided to try a windshield-mounted rearview mirror.

[Jim Doak]

If you've followed some of my posts, you'll note that I'm using an SN95 (1995) Mustang pedal box which utilizes a cable-actuated clutch. I had the same setup on my first build with over 46,000 trouble-free miles.

I'm using a Ford performance adjustable clutch cable, and although they work well, they require adjustment at the clutch fork. Not the easiest thing in the world. So, for this build I purchased and installed a Steeda firewall clutch adjuster. It should make any necessary clutch cable adjustments a piece of cake.

The only other project that I may attempt prior to paint, is to see if I prefer the kit-supplied throttle pedal to the Breeze pedal that I'm currently using.

The Breeze pedal works fine; however, I think the kit pedal may suit me better.

[Blitzboy54]

I've finished fitting the four splash guards; now the only parts I have yet to pre-fit or install from the kit are the two under door aluminum pieces.

Here's few pics showing the fitment of the splash guards. Not too difficult, though I did need to cut a window in the front driver's side splash guard to provide clearance for the master cylinder. While I was at it, I fabbed a couple of close-out panels to fill the gaps between the rear wheel wells and the cockpit. Final installation will occur after the car gets painted.

Speaking of paint, I'm scheduled to take it in for bodywork and paint in early/mid-February.

Do you know what the color scheme will be? She looks great, very clean build. Congrats on getting to this point so quickly

[Jim Doak]

Do you know what the color scheme will be? She looks great, very clean build. Congrats on getting to this point so quickly

The plan is a vintage Ford light blue paint color. No stripes.

[Jim Doak]

I attempted to utilize the kit-supplied throttle pedal but found that it really wasn't practical without a lot of contortion and cursing. So, I made a slight modification to the Breeze pedal.

I simply removed the supplied pad and fabricated a new one that's about twice as long and extends down towards the floor several inches.

I haven't tried driving with the new pad; however, testing it in the garage seems to indicate that the throttle will be much easier to modulate with the longer pad.

[Jim Doak]

I built my car using Mike Forte's throttle linkage. But after driving my car for a couple dozen miles, I've found that the linkage wasn't going to work with my setup. The problem wasn't the linkage, it's how I set it up. I had the lever arms pointing upwards on the cross shaft, so the actuation rod would pull the throttle open. However, I'm using a Mustang pedal box and to avoid interference, it caused some funky geometry with the linkage, putting too much stress on the Breeze pedal. The solution would be to rotate the lever arms towards the bottom and convert to a throttle push instead of pull. But that's not easily accomplished on a built car.

So, I pushed the easy button and removed the mechanical linkage and converted to a Lokar throttle cable. I had a Lokar cable on my first build and it worked fine; however, it seemed to sometimes cause a throttle hang. On this build I follow Mark Reynolds (Breeze) throttle pedal instructions recommendation and reversed the carb so the cable has one, long 180 degree bend instead of the two shorter 180's if the carb is mounted normally. It seems to be working great.

Here's a few pics showing the installation including the throttle pedal and the pedal stop I added.

[Jim Doak]

Because I'm using a Mustang pedal box and power brakes, I didn't use the Factory Five provided throttle cable opening in the footbox. It appeared that the vacuum booster I'm using would interfere with the cable. So, I drilled a 5/16" hole 1.25" to the right of the FFR opening, providing a non-obstructed route for the throttle cable.

Here's a couple more pics showing the location of the cable opening in the footbox as well as a bracket I fabbed to help stabilize the cable routing.

This completes my build. Now, it's time to begin removing the headlights, taillights, roll bar, side vents, etc. so I can trailer it down to Salt Lake City to my painter.

[Mike.Bray]

Nothing wrong with that cable. Glad to see you added a support to it, makes a lot of difference.