Wade's Cobra Build!

May, 2000

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May 6-7, 2000 - Scott Williamson drove from VA Beach to help out with the project for the weekend. I had already cleaned and painted the frame with POR-15, so full scale assembly could begin. We made a lot of progress! We installed front suspension, steering rack, rear axle, battery, gas tank, brake lines, and Lincoln front rotors. The wheels are temporary. They came off of my company car, a '99 Crown Vic.

May 10, 2000 - AutoMeter gauges arrived from TriState Motorsports, and I sent the donor wiring harnesses to Rob Weatherbie to have them put on a diet.

May 10-11, 2000 - Installed hydroboost that I bought from Greg Lapoint along with the donor parts. I shimmed the bottom out 1/4" according to Greg's instructions. The brake fluid reservoir ends up way forward and outside the engine compartment (inside the fender). I drilled a hole in the reservoir and adapted a hose leading into the engine compartment. Hopefully this will allow me to pump brake fluid in through the hose whenever necessary. Also, the Certificate of Origin arrived from FFR. The certificate calls the car a 1965 "Roadster" rather than "Cobra" because of copyright and/or trademark issues.

May 19-20, 2000 - Drove up to Carlisle to the Import / Kit Car Show. It was cold and rainy. I got to meet Mark Smith of Factory Five Racing. Most all of the Cobra Replica manufacturers were represented, and they showed their wares in Building T. Very few Cobra Kit Cars showed up for the show field, as the weather was so poor.

May 20-21, 2000 - Picked up my Compomotive wheels from Mike Mack of Tristate Motorsports! Brought them back to West Virginia and immediately took them to NTB to have the Bridgestone Potenza RE71's from Tire Rack mounted. The front wheels are 17"x 8" with 245/45/17's and the rear wheels are 17"x 10" with 275/40/17's. Most of my build time was devoted to modifying and mounting the pedals. The pedal box had to be modified to accommodate the hydroboost, and the accelerator pedal had to be shortened according to the FFR Assembly Manual.

Memorial Day Weekend, 2000 - This weekend was devoted to installation of the floor panels, foot boxes, and tunnel aluminum. I used Cleco fasteners to hold the aluminum panels in place while they were positioned, marked, and drilled.

Seat tracks from FFR will be used to build adjustability into the driver's seat. I used a Dremel Tool to grind the 'peen' off the mounting studs; as they will not work on the FFR floor. After removing these studs, I used them in the upper tracks as seat attachment studs. These seat tracks raise the seat height by 1 1/4 inches. I'll have to make some spacers for the passenger's seat to make sure the seats end up at the same height. The adjuster handle was straightened for me at J&S Machine Company to keep it from contacting the floor.

Finally, after a few hours of bending, trimming, drilling, cleaning, caulking, and riveting; the footboxes, tunnel, and floor panels were installed!