Progress on #782

[DanEC]

It started out as a simple observation after installing my wiper blades because the ERAs wipers parking on the right side which is appropriate for a right hand drive car such as it originally was - but a picture of what I think is an original car, that I happen to stare at on my computer screen all day at work, shows just the reverse. Now, I've browsed through the Cobra pictorial site for originals and found that some park to the right and some park to the left.

COBRA

Hell - I even have two scale models of Cobras and one parks right and the other parks left. I guess either is correct and were somehow installed interchangeably over the years. This would have been better posted in the Originality forum but escalated more than I expected. It's become simply a strange piece of Cobra trivia.

Now I'm over it and will resume regularly scheduled programming - I reinstalled my transmission tailhousing after applying serious amounts of Permetex and re-filled it this evening.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by DanEC

This would have been better posted in the Originality forum but escalated more than I expected. It's become simply a strange piece of Cobra trivia.

Naah, it's been over there for a while. See: Wiper blade direction / orientation And I think the "originals" that you see that are parked to the driver side might have started out the other way and then got "restored" over to the wrong side. From simply a driving standpoint, I'd rather not have the wipers in front of me when I'm driving anyway -- meaning, I'd rather have them over on the passenger side even if that wasn't the correct side (which it is). So, the question remains, Why are the CSX4xxx cars, just about every Kirkham, and every SPF car putting them over in front of the driver?

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by patrickt

From simply a driving standpoint, I'd rather not have the wipers in front of me when I'm driving anyway -- meaning, I'd rather have them over on the passenger side even if that wasn't the correct side (which it is).

So you could park the blade on the rubber instead of the glass and cap the pass side...

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by ERA Chas

So you could park the blade on the rubber instead of the glass and cap the pass side...

Yes, that's a possibility. Is there some sort of goofball shortage of motors that would explain three of the top four replica makers putting the wipers over on the wrong side?

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Yes, that's a possibility. Is there some sort of goofball shortage of motors that would explain three of the top four replica makers putting the wipers over on the wrong side?

Send David a PM and ask him.

[DanEC]

Finished up the vinyl behind the seats. Pass side wheel hump came out pretty good but I had a little trouble with the driver side and it is a little rough. Been working it over with some heat which is helping. If it bothers me I guess I'll pull it off and do another piece. The pocket is from ERA.

Other than bolting the interior in this was pretty much the last piece of the puzzle. Well, except for the blasted thing won't charge. My last box of parts is pretty empty except for the seat belts and the shifter and trim ring. Also the convertible top fitting I guess.

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[DanEC]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Yes, that's a possibility. Is there some sort of goofball shortage of motors that would explain three of the top four replica makers putting the wipers over on the wrong side?

Let it go Patrick - I have.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by DanEC

Let it go Patrick - I have.

No, it's like understanding the integral and the derivative. If you let it go, then you never get there.

[DanEC]

Good progress today. Received my top bows back from the powder coater this week.

Today I adjusted the rear ride heigth and aligned the front end. I took 1/2 inch out of the rear heigth and now have a 5 inch chassis heigth in the front and 5-1/4 inches in the rear. Looks better in my opinion and pretty well gets rid of the dead cat space. I think ERAChas will approve.



I used a camber/caster gage that I've had for years and used to align some of my other old cars. It's not much to look at but works well and gives repetitive results over and over as long as precautions are taken to level the car, take care to align the wheels straight for camber and use precise 20 deg turn in and turn outs for caster, and take care to hold the gage perfectly vertical when taking gage readings. When I bought my new Ford Lightning back in 2003 I immediately suspected the suspension might have been a little askew because of how it hunted and darted around on anything by smooth roads. I checked it with my gage and got some readings that definately didn't look right so I took it back to the dealer to check. Sure enough it was out of spec and they had to install the service camber washers and re-align it to spec.

It took awhile to move the car around in the garage and find a sweet spot where I could get the chassis level. I checked the front crossmember and the crossmember behind the seats and checked the floor to frame dimensions to get the car level. I left my dollies on the car as their adjustments helped in leveling and they made turning the front wheels in and out during caster checks easy.

I used a right angle to mark an equal distance off of the frame rail and then used a 4 ft straight edge to get the front wheel parallel to the car/frame before checking camber.

I used an adjustable protractor tool to mark 20 deg hashmarks on the floor for the caster checks.

I taped a level to the gage in order to keep it vertical for each reading.

After caster/camber were dialed in I used a toe tram to check toe in. It took a little fiddling with because the oil pan interfers with it on the backside of the tires. I finally laid it on it's side with the leg and dial arm pointing straight up and resting on the rear sidewalls.

The camber was a little out of spec on the negative side starting out but it had plenty of caster. After using the guidance in the manual to figure out how many shims to add or subtract I set up again and re-ran the checks. I ended up with 1/8 deg positve camber on both sides and 4-11/16 deg caster on both sides. Pretty amazing it came out exactly the same on both sides. The information in the manual on how much change to expect from shim adjustments was right on. Toe in is set at 1/16 inch


Tomorrow I hope to get the rear bulkhead vinyl done while the weather is warm and install the resister on the ignition warning light to see if I can get the voltage regulator to start regulating.