Getting close now

Just had an email from Meena at GD requesting my initial Cobra order details. The build is on schedule - should be able to collect the body in August.

GD even wanted to know my inside leg measurement! Yes honestly. They use this to work out how long the footwell needs to be for the GD427. Talk about a tailor made car!

I will order the body and various parts for the build - mainly body related.  It's a long list and will hurt the bank balance some (to the tune of nearly £10k). I spent a lot of the weekend trawling various blogs, looking at the build schedule and the parts/price list. The parts that I will not order yet include the seats, leather trim, carpets, roll hoops, mirrors, gauges etc. Don't need to get these yet, as they will be a later stage of the build.

The body will be a Cobra inspired GD MkIV in white (RAL 9010) gel coat, same as Keith Townsend's, but without the stripes initially. The fuel filler cap will be the flat variety, rather than the traditional Aston Martin type and the bonnet locks will not be handles, but key locks.

I expect to order the chassis, bell housing, brake upgrade, wheels, tyres and associated parts around August, for delivery in October. In between I will start work preparing the body - once I have it!

Met engine builder today

I met up with the engine builder today at their workshop.

Saw his Radical SR3 in another workshop, brilliant, but I agree it would look stunning in orange and black - which is the plan, rather than it's current British Racing Green. Also looked at his orange (guess what his favourite colour is) BMW 3 series with a Chevy LS engine, no less, and Tremec T56 gearbox installed! And it fit without any tin work too. It is now awaiting Dave the ECU magician. Wow, I bet that will shift. Also in the garage was an Ultima awaiting its refreshed 7 litre engine.

I saw a lot of Chevy engines from a big block 5 litre old style Chevy, being built for a race car to more modern 7 litre LS engines, plus the odd American Ford engine. I could sense the passion and pride when he builds an engine for his customers. Only the best will do and that is good enough for me.

My newly built engine for my GD427 Cobra arrives in the workshop from the US this week. He will check it over and if necessary correct any things that he is not happy with before it runs.

My next visit should be in June to see my own engine on the dyno and being set up - hopefully delivering the power and torque expected. I intend to capture this on a video and post it here when available, subject to mastering the technology! And then the real deal - taking it home in the back of the XF Sportbrake (I am assured that it will fit), ready to install in the GD chassis when it arrives.....can't wait.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.....

So the upgraded LS6 engine is ordered for the Cobra. One decision made! The engine should arrive in the UK next week from the States. I am planning to visit the engine builder next Tuesday. All moving forward nicely now.

The gearbox will be the Tremec Magnum 6 speed box mated to the LS6 via a suitable bell housing in the GD427. So the decision is made, but the order is not yet placed.

I had a good look at dashboard layouts when I was at Stoneleigh. I haven't seen one the same yet! And that is the problem when it comes to making decisions - every car is different. But it also makes them interesting too! I think mine will look very similar to Keith Townsend's pictured below, although probably a different layout, white dials on black leather, possibly with red stitching. I might go for the T shaped dashboard though. The white dials lift the black of the dashboard and look fantastic in my opinion. However, not being a purist, I will have a leather steering wheel if I can find a suitable design (what I hear you cry?). I just prefer the feel and thickness of a leather one, although the wood one does look really good. The speedo will also be a conventional rotation, not the anti clockwise variety found on some Cobras, including Keith's.

Keith's dashboard layout

The jury is still out on stripes on the car. I like the stripes, but I also like clean lines. Most seem to have them in some form, but I think I will wait and see. I'll have the car delivered in plain white, then have stripes added if I want them - avoids having to make a decision now!

No bonnet air scoop. This is not needed for the LS engine. I can always add one later if I change my mind.

Back from Stoneleigh 2015

A really worthwhile visit to the kit car show at Stoneleigh. Or should it be the hand built car show? Kit cars still have a connotation that is now clearly out of date.

Wow! Some of these cars could show many of the mainstream makers a thing or two.

I was mainly interested in the Cobra type of car. It was good to see the AK and GD stands really busy. The other Cobra type car stands a little less so.

Cars that stood out are included below:

One of the GD show cars with Meena polishing it

An AK 427 that caught my attention. Stunning in black with red stripes.

And my favourite car at the show:

Keith Townsend's GD 427

And probably the key reason I chose to go GD:

A GD Euro customer chassis on the stand

Engine ordered!

Just ordered the engine for my Cobra. That will eat into/overspend the budget! Expected delivery is early June Edit: it was July, but I don't get the chassis until October! Edit: I got it in December.

My basic requirements are for a road drivable car, but with a bit of grunt, is reliable and starts first time i.e. not temperamental.

So here it is:

• Chevy LS6 aluminium 5.7 honed block
• Polished and balanced GM 24X crankshaft
• New crankshaft bearings
• LS6 con rods with ARP 2000 bolts
• New flat top coated pistons
• Seal Power plasma moly rings
• Corvette winged oil pan
• GM high volume oil pump
• Cloyes billet timing chain
• Corvette balancer
• Corvette water pump
• LS6 243 aluminium heads
• LS7 cam
• LS7 hydraulic lifters
• Three angle valve job
• New cam bearings
• Trick Flow valve springs to match cam
• Trick Flow pushrods
• GM MLS head gaskets
• GM head bolts
• GM rocker arms
• Valve covers
• LS6 intake manifold
• LS6 injectors and fuel rail
• 85mm throttle body
• GM drive by wire pedal

I have gone with the LS7 cam to gain mid range torque at the expense of top end power that I could have got with a slightly wilder cam. Expected power is around 475 bhp and torque of around 465 ft/lb, but we will see what comes up on the dyno once the engine is built!

Now I need to sort out the transmission - 5 or 6 speed?

Radical win

Our Radical Prosport, now in the hands of a new owner, won it's class and in the process set a new class record at Aintree. This was only it's second race with the new owner at the helm. Well done Robbie!

Got the Tee shirt!

I have not got the Cobra yet, but as a birthday present from my youngest daughter Sarah, I got the Tee shirt! She had to buy it from the US and it is brilliant. Looks a lot better than the photo. Will wear with pride, whilst I twiddle my thumbs waiting for the real thing!

Cobra Tee shirt