[bremillard]

I originally used gas charged hood struts instead of Shell Valley supplied hi tech prop rod. I thought it was putting too much strain on my hood and was afraid the hood was going to eventually start to bow. I went to my local marine store and found some polished stainless hatch cover struts. These are not gas charged and rely on a mechanical thumb screw you tighten once the hood is lifted. I put one on each side and they look and work great.

I was searching the forum archives and ran across an old thread regarding rating the Cobra replica kits. One or more of the posters said that the best ones were the ones in their garage. I think just the opposite. I don't know what I was expecting when I purchased my kit but I was sorely disappointed in the quality of my parts as delivered. In discussing this topic with my painter and a couple of other knowledgable folks I have come to the conclussion that all the kits are just a similar starting point and it's up to each crafter to make of it what they will. I threw a lot of my supplied parts in the trash and disregarded much of the assembly manual in building my Cobra. -Bob