Our FFR Roadster project is...
Our FFR Roadster project is loaded onto a Reliable Carriers car transporter for the trip north to DVS Restorations and KR Performance & Restorations.
It's been just over a year into our Factory Five Cobra replica project, and we must say this build has been one of the most fun projects we've done in a while. A year might sound like a long time, especially when you see an update story just about every month, but when you consider that some classic-Ford projects can take several years to finish, ours has actually been on the fast track since day one. Sure, we've had our parts delays, personal-time conflicts (who wouldn't rather work on their car than cut the lawn or spend a weekend with the in-laws?), but our project build has come along quite nicely.
Something new we've done with this build has been an online diary of the project. Nothing fancy, just a simple weekly update with a few photos. It has been well received, and it's also a great way to sneak a peek at what will be in an upcoming issue.
We've taken our Cobra replica as far as we can in our home garage. Now we know some of our readers have dabbled in body and paintwork, and we keep telling ourselves we need to learn more of this fine art, but we'd rather not do so on what is arguably one of the toughest bodies to finish-sand and prep. When bodyworking a steel (or mostly steel) body, it's much harder to make a mistake, whereas with a fiberglass body, a few too many seconds with a machine sander and you'll have to build the fiberglass back up again. With a steel body, the hood and door gaps are nothing more than a few adjustments, but with the Roadster body, the doors, hood, and trunk lid are all manufactured oversize and have to be sanded down by hand to the proper 3/16-inch gap. We'll be honest; all that scares us, so we'll let the pros at KR Performance & Restorations take over for this part, and then we'll finish the project after the paint is done.
Even though the wiring has...
Even though the wiring has been done for a while, we recently decided to add self-canceling turn signals to our project car. Luckily, we hadn't reinstalled the dash assembly. This great little kit from Russ Thompson [rtcobra@comcast.net; (510) 234-7376] comes in two main sections: the column tube and the turn-signal switch assembly. Here, the column tube has been installed over the steering shaft.
Here's the turn-signal assembly...
Here's the turn-signal assembly itself. The wiring from the switch was terminated with a four-terminal wiring connector for easy installation and servicing.
The column tube requires a...
The column tube requires a larger dash opening for the assembly to pass through. After trimming the opening to size, we finished off the dash opening with a trim bezel from Mike's Replica Parts (www.replicaparts.com) to keep things looking nice and clean.
We almost forgot to mount...
We almost forgot to mount the fuel-pump cutoff switch for our Mass-Flo EFI system. It had only been tie-wrapped to the frame during the wiring and testing phase, but for it to work properly, it needs to be secured solidly to a section of the frame so that the switch will open and shut off the electric fuel pump in an impact. We found this spot at the end of the firewall that allows easy access to reset the switch by reaching up under the right end of the dash.
Before our Roadster's body...
Before our Roadster's body can be bolted to the chassis for transport, we need to close up the driver's foot-box top section.
The outboard panel covers...
The outboard panel covers the pedal-box assembly, and we found that a small amount of percussive clearancing helped prevent the panel from rubbing against the clutch pedal's starter-interrupt switch.
The inboard panel for the...
The inboard panel for the driver's foot box is secured last. Make sure you have everything wrapped up in the foot box before installing this last panel. Some people cut an access panel into this top, but we decided to go one better by making the complete panel removable in the future. We did this by riveting the panel only along the engine side (where the Clekos are in the first picture).
The top of the panel, where...
The top of the panel, where it meets the 3/4-inch frame member and the outboard panel, and the rear of the panel, where it meets the firewall, are sealed with strips of adhesive-backed foam. If we need access in the future, we'll simply drill out a few rivets and pull the entire panel out of the way.
On the Mk III chassis, these...
On the Mk III chassis, these cockpit corner panels are installed with the support bar on the inboard side. Some people rivet the panel to the crossbar, but we used a bead of silicone to prevent rattles and "oil canning" of the panel. The upper corner won't be installed until the painted body is put in place for the last time.
While most seams and gaps...
While most seams and gaps between the various aluminum panels and the frame were small enough to seal with a bead of silicone, others were too large. We used small sections of scrap aluminum for those, such as in the foot boxes, but for the trunk-floor area where the rollbar mounting stubs pass through, we opted to use some of our left-over DEI Reflect-A-Cool (from when we insulated the foot-box panels) to seal these rather large open areas.
The front and rear splash...
The front and rear splash shields are usually installed once the body has been fitted and bolted securely to the frame. We took a chance with the front splash shields and drilled the mounting holes for them with the body off. Later, when we refitted the body, we discovered the splash shields needed a little trimming for the best fit. It's not the end of the world, just one more thing that will have to be done.
We've planned to carpet the...
We've planned to carpet the trunk area from the start, and we read a good tip online: With the body off is a good time to create a template of the trunk floor and sidewalls to use as a guide when cutting the carpet for installation. Unfortunately, the only material we had at hand large enough was a cardboard box. The stiffness of the cardboard made it interesting to work with, but we made the templates.
Since our project will be...
Since our project will be heading to two different shops-neither of which has worked on an FFR Roadster-we felt it would be beneficial to call out the various mounting points of the body and what needs to be removed for it to be safely separated from the chassis.
We threw in the build manual...
We threw in the build manual (with a bunch of notes and ID tabs added), but nothing beats a little painters' tape and permanent marker to let them know where all the bolts are.
The doors and trunk lid were...
The doors and trunk lid were bolted on to the body for transport and secured with duct tape. We did not mount the hood itself because the attaching method is by rivet and we want the hood painted before the hinges are riveted on. We laid the hood into place on the body and secured it with more duct tape around the perimeter.
Reliable Carriers arrived...
Reliable Carriers arrived on a Saturday to pick up our project and headed north with it the following Monday. Reliable's car carriers are a great way to transport projects or finished cars with secure handling and fully enclosed, climate-controlled transportation. Well-known for transcontinental transportation of concept cars, corporate prototypes, and engineering vehicles, Reliable has four locations throughout the United States.