Cobra gear box arrived

As the Tremec gearbox is an American import, they can be difficult to get. The shipment for the importer had been delayed around 6 months, so I grabbed one whilst I could.

My T56 Magnum (Tremec ref 11009) 6 speed gear box arrived today from Roadcraft UK, along with the bell housing, slave cylinder, spigot bearing, the yoke that links the gearbox to the prop shaft and the fixing bolts. The bell housing is a Repower item that connects the Tremec Magnum gearbox to the Chevy LS engine. The ratios of the 'box are 2.66,  1.78, 1.30, 1.00, 0.80, 0.63 through a 3.07 differential that comes as part of the Euro chassis. These are the first real bits to arrive for my Gardner Douglas 427 (Cobra).

The gearbox, bellhousing and various important bits!

Now all I need is an engine to fix it to and a chassis to install it all in!

By the way, hello to my visitors from Slovakia, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Columbia, Ukraine, Australia, Norway, Canada, Netherlands, France, Russia, Spain, Ireland, Mexico, Channel Islands, USA and of course the UK. Also a big hello if you are new to my blog and I haven't mentioned your country. Thank you for looking, I do appreciate you visiting!

Dash design

I returned from a holiday in Scotland. Much of the time was spent thinking about how the Cobra's dash would look (but don't tell the boss!). I had decided not to use the standard GD 'pyramid' style of small dials, with the larger speedo and rev counter either side, but I didn't know what to do instead. That was until I saw Noel Hirst's GD dashboard layout on Facebook.

As it turned out, I had had the same thought as Noel, but he had come up with a different layout (see below).

Dash style by Noel Hirst!

Having visited Noel at his home in South Yorkshire, I am now convinced that the design is right for me too! Noel is happy for me to plagiarise his design for my Cobra dash. Why re-invent the wheel?

I still have to decide on which warning lights and switches to use and where to put them, although I now have some ideas on the type of switches and the black warning lights that Noel had used gave me food for thought. As posted earlier, I have also decided to go with white faced dials, rather than black, even though Noel's look brilliant in black. However, I may also go for black bezels and red pointers, like his.

And what a worthwhile visit it was too. Not only did I clarify my 427's dashboard dial design, but I also came away with some great advice from Noel and a clearer view as to what I should do on some of the build - key points are have a clear view of how the car will look and order in plenty of time to allow for delays in parts delivery.

Thanks Noel.

Body stripes

Here is my idea of the Cobra and how it may look with the stripes (visualised by Bradford company Reforma). The stripes will be added later.

Visual of how the Cobra may look

Forget the single roll bar, central fuel filler and the air scoop on the bonnet.

Twin black stripes

No not on the GD body. Just on the body frame!

Today I added the final touch to the body frame - twin black rubber strips. I was always concerned that the boby would move on the frame, so originally I was going to add some wood to stop the body moving on the frame I constructed.

Instead I have added twin black rubber "stripes" (see photo below) to stop the body sliding on (or off!) the frame when I work on it.

Body frame with 'non-slip' rubber matting

The rubber matting has been fixed with contact adhesive, both obtained from Car Builder Solutions on-line (cost about £8, plus adhesive and carriage). The rubber matting has fine ribs to help with its non-slip purpose. Hope this works, otherwise it could be an expensive mistake!

My Radical wins again

Well, Robbie left it 'til the last run at Harewood on Sunday. He gave it his all on the last run and won the class in my old Radical, beating the bigger engined cars in the process. Mind you he admitted that the final corner, Quarry, nearly claimed him and the car! Well done that man, a class win and 4th overall is not to be sniffed at. Makes me wish I hadn't sold it.

Early build slot with Gardner Douglas

Just had a phone conversation with Andy about my initial Cobra build order. Most things on the order were ok. I had made the odd mistake, but the eagle eyes of Meena and Andy had spotted my errors and these were to my advantage.

Andy slipped in that the body build slot for my Cobra (GD427) had been brought forward! I had expected a later delivery than promised by GD (just because I set my expectation lower than promised), but how wrong I was. The body and initial parts order should be available to collect early July. That is some five weeks earlier than they said when I booked my build slot! Well done Andy and all at GD. Under promise and over deliver - what a refreshing change to many companies.

Now I need to sort out the Luton van to collect it all and some muscle to help me get it in and out of the van.

I am like a dog with two tails!